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In this Issue

• From the Desk of Kim McCleary
• Research Matters
     CFS Researchers, Doctors Held Conference in Norway
     The Gene Teams
     NIH Presentations Available for CFS Researchers 
• CFS Advisory Committee Report
• Meet the New CFIDS Association Board Members  
• Phoenix Rising Interview with Dr. Suzanne Vernon
• Photo Exhibit Heads to Philadelphia
• The Power and Joy of Giving  
• Holiday Tips Times Two
• Deck Your Halls: My Cause Holiday Pages
• “Defining Moments” Essay Series: Jennie Spotila  

From the Desk of Kim McCleary
Across the Board
The role of the Board in any organization is provide sound stewardship and set policy. Although the CFIDS Association’s Board isn’t often in the spotlight, its dedication to mission and shared purpose is evident in all we do.
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Research Matters

CFS Researchers, Doctors Held in Norway
Members of the International Association of CFS/ME (IACFS\ME) Board of Directors spoke at the Norwegian ME Association meetings in Oslo, Norway, recently. Topics ranged from immunology to pain and more.
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The Gene Teams
The CFS Computational Challenge (C3) was the largest multidisciplinary scientific investigation of CFS to date, focusing four research teams on extensive biomedical data. In this article from the “Science ’07 Issue” of the CFIDS Chronicle, Dr. Suzanne Vernon provides a play-by-play of the progress these teams made.
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NIH Presentations Available for CFS Researchers
In September the National Institutes for Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) sponsored a grantsmanship workshop for research on CFS. Speakers shared grantwriting “best practices,” specific NIH funding opportunities and aspects of their grant-reviewing process. Presentations from this daylong session are available from the ORWH website. http://orwh.od.nih.gov/cfs/cfsFundingGMWs.html

CFS Advisory Committee Report
The CFS Advisory Committee (CFSAC) advises the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on coordination of federal CFS programs. It includes representatives from the CDC, NIH and FDA as well as 11 appointed CFS authorities and invited speakers. Here’s a report from the committee’s most recent meeting on November 28-29.
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Meet the New CFIDS Association Board Members
The CFIDS Association welcomes a new Board chairman for 2008 and four new members to its Board of Directors. Here’s a look at the new Board members who’ll help govern the Association’s priorities and policies in 2008.
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Phoenix Rising Interview with Dr. Suzanne Vernon
Phoenix Rising e-newsletter editor Cort Johnson interviewed the Association’s new scientific director, Dr. Suzanne Vernon, within days of her stepping into her new role within the CFS community. Questions covered everything from Dr. Vernon’s background at the CDC to her perspective on energizing the research field. You can read the interview at the Phoenix Rising website. http://phoenix-cfs.org/
 
Photo Exhibit Heads to Philadelphia
After a monthlong stay at the CDC’s Global Heath Odyssey in Atlanta (December 3 – January 4), “The Faces of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” photo exhibit is coming to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 14 – 21. The exhibit will be on display at 30th Street Station—a venue that serves 25,000 commuters daily. If you’re in the area, don’t miss this chance to see the exhibit in person. For the rest of you, look for a feature in the upcoming CFIDS Chronicle telling the story of the impact this exhibit has made so far in its travels across the country (including a peek at all 10 images from the striking banners). To learn more about the photo exhibit and other elements of the national public awareness campaign visit http://www.cfids.org/sparkcfs/default.asp

The Power and Joy of Giving
Remember the magic of holiday gifts when you were a child? Now that we’re all grown up, holiday gifts can still delight, but their meaning has shifted for most of us. Find out what Association donors have to say about the joy and power they feel from a gift well given.
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Holiday Tips Times Two
The holidays can be the most energy-challenging time of the year. Here are two sets of advice for making it through the season without stretching your health and well-being to their limits or beyond.

Counselors Lisa Burdick, MA, and Bill Gareau, MHDL, offer seven suggestions to help people with CFS and those who care about them celebrate the holidays within the boundaries that this illness can create.
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Elizabeth Skoglund, CFS patient and a marriage and family counselor, shares her personal insight on how to manage holiday expectations and activities.
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Deck Your Halls: My Cause Holiday Pages
Looking for an easy, cost-effective way to send greetings to your friends and relatives this holiday season? Save postage and avoid the trip to the mall at the same time: set up a My Cause page to share your story! Go to http://mycausecfs.kintera.org for easy-to-follow instructions on setting up your own CFS web page. You’ll find a number of templates, including one with a holiday theme. You can also compose your own greeting and upload your own artwork. And the bonus: You’ll be raising money to fight CFS. What better holiday gift can your friends give you? For a list of those in the CFS community who are already My Cause hosts and links their pages, go to http://www.cfids.org/support/participants-mycause.asp.

“Defining Moments” Essay Series: Jennie Spotila
This month’s personal story features an installment in the “Defining Moments” essay series launched to mark the Association’s 20 years of “making CFS history.” Association Board chairman Jennie Spotila shares an unforgettable moment in her life with CFS—a moment when she quite literally reached a turning point.
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