To foster and support the next generation of lupus researchers, the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), Inc. has awarded summer fellowships to five young investigators who will conduct their studies under the supervision of an established lupus investigator. Named after the daughter of former LFA President Dr. Sergio Finzi, the Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship program has supported the work of approximately 200 young investigators since it was founded in 1984.

The Finzi Fellowship program seeks to cultivate an interest in a career in lupus research among young investigators by supporting basic, clinical, and psychosocial research studies. The program is part of the LFA’s ongoing efforts to advance the science and medicine of lupus and bring down barriers that have impeded progress in research on the disease. In the past, medical research on lupus has not kept pace with efforts for other similar chronic and life-threatening diseases. The FDA has not approved a drug for lupus in 50 years.

Summer 2009 award recipients

Ian Kroll
The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles
"Accelerated Atherosclerosis and Pro-Inflammatory HDL in SLE-prone Mice"

Sean Lavine
New York University School of Medicine
"Cyclooxygenase 2 and Injury in Neonatal Lupus"

Xi Leon Zhao
Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute
"Putative Mechanism of NP-SLE: Toxicity of Anti-DNA Anti-NMDAR Antibody"

Maggie Bromberg
Duke University Medical Center
"Psychological and Disease Related Predictors of Sleep in Pediatric SLE"

Tarak Trivedi
The University of Chicago
"Analysis of SLE Clinical Characteristics using SLE Susceptibility Genes"

History

The Gina Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program is a memorial tribute to Gina Finzi, the late daughter of former LFA President Emeritus Sergio Finzi, Ph.D. The goal of this national student research program is to foster an interest in systemic lupus erythematosus among young researchers through support of basic, clinical, or psychosocial research under the supervision of an established investigator. Since 1984, the Gina Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship program has supported the work of nearly 200 young investigators.

Related Information

Read the LFA press release on the 2009 Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Recipients

Past Recipients of the Gina Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program