Bevra Hahn. M.D. has been named the first recipient of the Evelyn V. Hess Research Award, which will be presented annually by the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) to a medical researcher whose body of work has advanced understanding of lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and tissue damage to virtually any organ system in the body. 

Dr. Hahn is Professor of Medicine, Vice-Chair of the Department of Medicine, and Chief of Rheumatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles.  Dr. Hahn was recognized for her commitment to lupus research, specifically in the areas of immunosuppressive treatments.  Dr. Hahn’s research on immunosuppressive treatments for lupus, along with studies from the NIH and other institutions, has formed the firm foundation for the development of current immunosuppressive regimens for lupus, which affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans, and more than five million individuals worldwide, mostly women.  

Dr. Hahn was responsible, in conjunction with her husband, for demonstrating that adding daily calcium and Vitamin D to steroid regimens slows bone loss, a strategy that has since become standard treatment practice in the United States.  Her genetics work using mouse models has demonstrated that certain clones of anti-DNA antibodies obtained from lupus-prone mice can induce similar symptoms in normal animals.  Recent studies completed by Dr. Hahn and her team showed that the pro-inflammatory HDL molecules are increased in people with lupus. 

Her laboratory currently is supported by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Merit Award and other grant awards for studies on which Dr. Hahn is co-investigator.  She has been a mentor to many young lupus research investigators and has served on numerous advisory panels for the NIH and other agencies, institutions and organizations.  Dr. Hahn has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed research papers and over 40 book chapters or reviews.  She is co-editor of an influential medical textbook, Dubois’ Lupus Erythematosus, and a co-author of an LFA guidebook for people with lupus, their families and healthcare providers. 

Dr. Hahn is the past-president of the American College of Rheumatology.  She has earned numerous honors and awards including the Carol Nachman Award for Innovative Research and the Heberden Medal of the British Society of Rheumatology. 

Dr. Hahn has been involved with the Lupus Foundation of America since its formative years, helping to establish the first LFA chapter in Missouri in the mid 1970’s.  She has treated hundreds of lupus patients over many years of practice.  It has been the treatment of these patients, with the knowledge that there is still no cure for lupus, which has inspired her continued commitment to research. 

The LFA named the research award in honor of Dr. Evelyn V. Hess, M.D., M.A.C.R., M.A.C.P., in recognition of Dr. Hess’s more than 30 years of clinical practice and research on lupus.  Dr. Hess is an internationally known expert in the field of the environmental aspects of lupus.  She is a Master of the American College of Rheumatology, and a Master of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Hess is Professor of Internal Medicine and Immunology at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.  She held the McDonald Professorship at the University’s College of Medicine from 1969 until 1995 and was awarded the University of Cincinnati Drake Medal in 2001 for distinguished service to the College.  The University also has recognized her by establishing a fund for the Evelyn V. Hess Chair in Rheumatology to support faculty and fellow salaries for research and education in rheumatic diseases in the Division of Immunology/Rheumatology at the College of Medicine.

Dr. Hess is recognized as a tireless advocate for people affected by lupus both in the U.S. and in Central and South America, through her work with the Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology (PANLAR). Nowhere was Dr. Hess’s dedication to lupus and the people the disease affects more evident than during her tenure on the LFA’s Medical-Scientific Advisory Council (MSAC).  Dr. Hess chaired the MSAC for nearly 15 years, providing her leadership, expertise, guidance and foresight before being named an Honorary Member of the LFA Board of Directors in 2004.  She continues to assist and support the LFA in many capacities and remains actively involved in reviewing applications for research grants and fellowships. 

With nearly 300 chapters, branches and support groups, the LFA is the nation’s leading nonprofit voluntary health agency dedicated to finding the causes and cure for lupus.  The LFA operates programs of research, education, awareness, support and advocacy.  The LFA’s mission is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of lupus, support individuals and families affected by the disease, increase awareness of lupus among health professionals and the public, and find the causes and cure for the disease.