Dr. Alison Bested, Treasurer and Director
After studying in a Nursing Science Honours Program for three years, Alison completed a B.Sc. with Honours at the 
University of Windsor before studying medicine and earning her M.D. from McMaster University. She then completed a rotating internship at the Wellesley Hospital, Toronto, followed by residencies in anatomical pathology and haematological pathology at multiple Toronto teaching hospitals. In 1984, she earned a Fellowship in the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, F.R.C.P.C. in Haematological Pathology.
She then served eight years as the Head, Division of Haematology and Immunohaematology, Toronto East General and Orthopaedic Hospital, Inc. before entering her current clinical haematology consulting practice focused on complex chronic conditions, such as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. She is also Medical Specialist Liaison/Staff Physician and Past Acting Medical Director of the provincially-funded, academically-affiliated Environmental Health Clinic at Women’s College Hospital, Toronto. She is a faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, teaching medical students, family practice residents and nursing students.
Besides serving as Chairperson of Transfusion Committees at the Toronto East General and Orthopaedic Hospital, and as a member of medical and medical technologists’ advisory committees, Alison was invited by Health Canada to be a member of an international Medical Expert Panel to establish a consensus definition for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A clinical working case definition, along with diagnostic and treatment protocols for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, were published in the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 2003; 11 (1) 7-115. Alison also served the Ontario Medical Association as Head of the Section of Haematology and Medical Oncology, 2004-2006, and initiated the Ontario Health Insurance Program’s diagnostic and time-based billing codes for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.
Always very concerned about helping patients to achieve the best possible functioning and quality of life in spite of suffering chronic illness, Alison has attended many national and international post-graduate education courses and conferences, and trained with mentors, to address the full spectrum of patient needs. She developed an Activity Log and Functional Capacity Scale to help patients and employers to determine if or when persons with chronic illnesses might be able to return to work, and has made numerous presentations to media and at professional and public conferences, workshops, and rounds, written articles for health professional journals and public newsletters, and served as a medical advisor to patient support groups. She was honoured with an award from the Canadian Society for Environmental Medicine in 2004, and is the primary author of a practical book, Hope and Help for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, Second Edition, published by Cumberland House in 2008.