Stratifying ME/CFS by exposure to fungal toxins
Official title: Stratification of ME/CFS by mycotoxin exposure
Funded at Nova Southeastern University · NIH-11347476 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study to understand how exposure to fungal mycotoxins may affect immune cells in ME/CFS patients and what this means for symptoms.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Nova Southeastern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Fort Lauderdale-Davie, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | May 8, 2026 |
| Project end | April 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $614,458 |
| NIH project number | 1R01NS148845-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11347476 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with ME/CFS, with or without detectable mycotoxin exposure, and sedentary healthy controls.
✕Less likely to help
Healthy individuals without ME/CFS are included as controls and may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project will compare ME/CFS patients with and without measurable mycotoxin exposure to healthy controls, using advanced immune profiling. Researchers will measure urinary mycotoxins, cytokines, and symptom severity, and will analyze immune cells at the single-cell level and extracellular vesicles to look for toxin-related changes. The study aims to recruit 150 ME/CFS patients and 50 controls, and to stratify patients by mycotoxin exposure to identify distinct molecular patterns. The goal is to uncover molecular links between environmental exposure and ME/CFS biology that could guide future therapies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could lead to better understanding of ME/CFS and pave the way for targeted biomarker development and therapies.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work suggests mycotoxins can influence immune pathways, but this would be among the first to link them to ME/CFS at the molecular level.
Where this research is happening
-
Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale-Davie, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nathanson, Lubov — Nova Southeastern University
- Study coordinator: Nathanson, Lubov
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.