Open Medicine Foundation’s Research Programs
Open Medicine Foundation (OMF) is dedicated to conducting research focused on finding effective treatments and diagnostic markers for ME/CFS and Long COVID.
As part of this pursuit, OMF collaborating centers have over 35 projects that are in various stages of the research process. Conducting quality research is a complex, time-consuming process, often spanning years before yielding meaningful results. To provide further context for research updates we provide along the way, we want to delve more into some of these complexities of the process and how we try to navigate them when performing studies.
4 Major Stages of the Research Process

- Study Design, IRB/Ethics Review: After conceptualizing a study, the team has to develop a full protocol and study materials. The protocol and study materials then undergo review by an Institutional Review Board, an organization responsible for ensuring proper conduct of human subject research.
- Recruitment, Data Collection: After a study is approved, recruitment and data collection can begin as described in the protocol.
- Data Analysis: After all data is collected from all participants, the analysis is conducted. Data analysis can include lab testing, statistics, and more.
- Publication: After all data analysis is complete, the team can write a paper, presenting the results. The paper is then submitted to a journal and goes through a thorough review process before being accepted for publication.