Lubov Nathanson

Lubov Nathanson, PhD, is an assistant professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine (INIM), Nova Southeastern University, Florida, US.

Dr Nathanson research interests include exploring altered genetic expression in the immune cells of ME/CFS patients and the potential role of DNA methylation, an epigenetic process that can turn genes on or off, in ME/CFS.

2017 Ramsay Award

A team comprised of Dr. Elisa Oltra of Universidad Católica de Valencia, Spain, and Drs. Lubov Nathanson, Vladimir Beljanski and Malav Suchin Trivedi of Nova Southeastern University, US, were awarded a 2017 Ramsay Award grant from the Solve ME/CFS Initiative for researching the effect of ME/CFS on epigenetic regulation in specific immune cell types.

ME/CFS Common Data Element (CDE) Project

Member of the Baseline/Covariate Working Group, the Neurologic/Cognitive/CNS Imaging Working Group, and the Biomarkers Working Group of the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Common Data Element (CDE) Project sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. This working group reviewed data collection instruments widely used by investigators in the ME/CFS field, and either recommended their use unchanged or (more often) proposed some modifications.

Notable studies

• 2015, Using gene expression signatures to identify novel treatment strategies in gulf war illness - (Full text)
• 2018, Identification of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-associated DNA methylation patterns - (Full Text)
• 2019, Treatment Avenues in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Split-gender Pharmacogenomic Study of Gene-expression Modules - (Abstract)
• 2019, Epigenetic Components of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Uncover Potential Transposable Element Activation - (Full text)
• 2019, Genetic Predisposition for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Pilot Study - (Abstract)

Online presence

• LinkedIn
• ResearchGate

Learn more

• NSU Research Spotlight: Lubov Nathanson, Ph.D.
• Nova Southeastern University Researchers Receive $800,000 Grant to Research Gulf War Illness

cognition Thought processes, including attention, reasoning, and memory.

central nervous system (CNS) - One of the two parts of the human nervous system, the other part being the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord, while the peripheral nervous system consists of nerves that travel from the central nervous system into the various organs and tissues of the body.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) - A set of biomedical research institutes operated by the U.S. government, under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services.