Past Recipients of the Gina Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program

LFA Research Program | Grants, Fellowships, and Special Initiatives | Gina Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program | Past Recipients

The Gina Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowships are awarded each year to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, in order to foster and support interest in lupus through basic, clinical, or psychosocial research supervised by established scientific investigators. Applications are reviewed by members of the LFA Medical-Scientific Advisory Council and other qualified physicians, and are scored according to National Institutes of Health guidelines for research proposals.

This fellowship is a memorial tribute to Gina Finzi, the late daughter of former LFA President Emeritus Sergio Finzi, PhD. Dr. Finzi passed away in October 2003. His legacy will be carried on through the young scientists he has helped to establish their careers in lupus research.

Summer 2009 award recipients

Ian Kroll
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"

Summer 2008 award recipients

LaToia Bryant
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
"Complement C4d on Platelets and Platelet-Derived Microparticles in SLE"

Chao Jiang
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
"The Role of BCMA for PC Survival in Murine SLE"

Erinn Kellner
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
"Depression and Fatigue in SLE: the Role of Type-I Interferons"

Jennifer Woo
University of California, Los Angeles, CA
"Aortic Lesion Composition in an Accelerated Atherosclerosis Lupus Model"

John Connolly
University of California, Los Angeles, CA
"Efficacy of Orally Administered p-Consensus Peptide in SLE Mouse Models"

Summer 2007 award recipients

James Y. Chen
University of California, Los Angeles; David Geffen School of Medicine; Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology
"Investigating the Immuno-modulatory Defect of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Lupus"

Gopal Chandrasekharan
University of Oklahoma; Health Sciences Center, Division of Pediatric Rheumatology
"The Role of TLR9-Signaling in Active Childhood Systemic Lupus Erythematosus"

Alexandra Cunningham
Emory University
"Barriers to Initial Diagnosis and Treatment Among Adult Female African-Americans with SLE in Atlanta"

Andrew Hwang
Brown University; Brigham and Women’s Hospital
"Evaluation of Internet Information for Persons with Early Symptoms of SLE"

Rajkumar Srikrishnan
University of California, San Diego; School of Medicine
"Autoantibody Microarray Surveys of SLE Families"

Summer 2006 award recipients

Melissa Lee
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
"Characterization of Circulating Endothelial Cells Bearing C4d as a Lupus Biomarker"

Mariza Misus
Bennington College
"Cytokines as Biomarkers for Disease Progression of Atherosclerosis in SLE"

Ilka Netravali
Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital
"Sialyl 9-O-Acetyl Transferase: A Key Therapeutic Target for Lupus"

Noa Schwartz
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
"TWEAK as a Marker for Disease Severity in Human Lupus Nephritis"

Robert Van Haren
Michigan State University
"Altered Apoptosis in Cutaneous Lupus"

David Yao
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
"Differential Gene Expression Regulation in Monocytes and Macrophages: Correlation with Subclinical Atherosclerosis and Osteoporosis Outcomes in Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus"

Summer 2005 award recipients

Wiktoria B. Bielska
University of Pittsburgh Lupus Center of Excellence
"Psychosocial Influences and Development of Biomarkers for SLE"

Tania M. Portillo
University of California-Los Angeles
"Role of Dendritic Cells in Murine Lupus"

Christopher G. Mayne
University of Wisconsin-Madison
"Genetic Dissection of Autoimmunity with Lymphopenia in Baff-R Mutant Mice"

Adria N. Armbrister
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York
"Black Women's Lupus Life Narratives: A Closer Look at Those Most Affected by the Disease"

Nidhi Mehta
University of Pittsburgh Lupus Center of Excellence
"Development of Platelet C4d as a Lupus Biomarker for Vascular Disease"

Paul Hoffman
University of Pittsburgh Lupus Center of Excellence
"Reticulocyte-Bound C4d as an Indicator of Disease Course in SLE Patients"

Amy M. Salerno
University of Pittsburgh Lupus Center of Excellence
"Cell-bound Complement Activation Products in Urine: Novel Biomarkers of Lupus Nephritis"