Research We Fund

SLICC is an international research organization with 54 members who collectively represent 43 academic medical centers across 16 countries and 5 continents. SLICC members represent many of the world’s key opinion leaders in lupus care and treatment. The Foundation and SLICC started discussing potential topics of collaboration in 2016 and as of October 1, 2017, the two organizations started an official partnership. ACR has also joined the agreement and will provide expert advice and support for the project. The partnership with ACR on this project is excellent in promoting and developing a more robust relationship with ACR and the Foundation.

The project is currently focused on updating the SLICC Damage Index (SDI). Using an international consensus and evidence-based process, SLICC will update and develop a new SLICC Damage Index (SDI) over the next 3 years. This work is timely and highly relevant to physicians and patients globally as we seek to improve the management of lupus. Long-term damage is a highly relevant clinical outcome in lupus research and trials of new therapies by pharmaceutical companies. Improving SLE damage measurement is therefore a critical next step in the field of lupus research.

CARRA works to improve research aimed at finding the cause and cure for childhood rheumatic diseases. In 2017, the Lupus Foundation of America committed to a multi-year partnership to support CARRA. In the first year of the project, CARRA will develop a research agenda for childhood lupus that will ultimately aim to identify the top priorities needed in this field.

Project Title: Development of a Childhood Lupus Research Agenda

Principal Investigators: Aimee Hersh, MD, University of Utah; CARRA SLE Committee Chair
Andrea Knight, MD, MSCE, University of Toronto; CARRA SLE Committee Vice-Chair

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We are providing nearly $4 million to support a five-year, first-of-its-kind clinical trial in the United States to evaluate adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) as a treatment for lupus. The phase II trial will enroll 81 individuals with lupus whose disease is not responding to current therapies. This study marks a bold step forward in lupus research and could diminish the long-term effects of lupus, help lower medication dosage, stop damage to vital organs, and save lives.

Project Title: A Phase II Sequential Dose Escalation Study Evaluating the Safety and Feasibility of Allogenic Umbilical Cord Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Adults with Treatment Refractory Lupus

Principal Investigators:
PI Gary S. Gilkeson, MD, Medical University of South Carolina
Co-PI, Diane Kamen, MD, Medical University of South Carolina

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The LFA CDAI initiative is a collaboration among multiple companies to improve lupus clinical trials. Since its inception in 2009, LFA CDAI has published important findings identifying trends and new insights to improve lupus clinical trials. The current LFA CDAI analysis project builds upon this work.

Project Title: An Integrated Analysis of Data from Placebo Group’s Participation in Multi-Center Clinical Trials for Lupus

Principal Investigator: Mimi Kim, ScD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

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The goal of the ALPHA Project is to bring together international lupus experts to develop and implement strategies to address the critical barriers toward improving outcomes in lupus. Through this Project, the international lupus community has reached the first-ever agreement on the barriers to lupus research, drug development, care and access. In January, 2020, A global advisory panel of lupus medical experts and people living with the disease met in Washington, DC to set bold new priorities in lupus drug development, clinical care and access to care.  The Global Advisory Committee is now developing specific strategies to implement that will address the identified priorities on a global scale.

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The Lupus Foundation of America is providing a three-year grant supporting the IMPACT study (IMprove Pregnancy in APS with Certolizumab Therapy), the first trial of a biologic therapy to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes in high-risk pregnancies in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) with or without systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The lead investigator of the study is Jane Salmon, MD, Collette Kean Research Professor at Hospital for Special Surgery.

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In 2006, we established the Michael Jon Barlin Pediatric Research Program with the generous support of the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, in memory of Michael Jon Barlin, who passed away at the age of 24 following a long battle with lupus. With those funds, we became the first and only lupus organization in the United States with a dedicated childhood lupus research agenda. Through this program, we provide funding to facilitate childhood lupus research in areas where there is the greatest need, including kidney disease, quality of life, and neuropsychiatric disease.

Our Michael Jon Barlin Pediatric Lupus Research Program also is supporting a project led by Kathleen Sullivan, MD, MPH, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Sullivan is researching HER2, a gene that can play a role in the development of breast cancer and investigating whether it can anticipate flares in children with lupus. Results of this research may lead to real-time evaluation of disease activity.

Project Title: Urinary HER2 as a Biomarker for Lupus Nephritis
Principal Investigator: Kathleen Sullivan, MD, MPH, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

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The Gary S. Gilkeson Career Development Award (CDA) provides funding to rheumatology, nephrology, and dermatology fellows who are interested in the most critical areas of lupus research.The CDA aims to reduce the future shortage of lupus researchers by supporting these fellows at a critical and challenging time in their careers – when they must make difficult decisions about their future paths. If we don’t support scientists in the lupus research field, we won’t have the knowledge, studies and advances needed to care for individuals living with this complex disease.

Tala El Tal, MD

Hospital for Sick Children

Mentor: Andrea Knight, MD, MSCE

Project Title: Examining Cognitive Dysfunction and its Relationship to Disease and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Childhood-onset Lupus: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

Yevgeniya Gartshteyn, MD, PhD

Columbia University

Mentor: Adam Mor, MD, PhD and Anca Askanase, MD

Project Title: Elucidating the role of T-cell co-receptor SLAMF6/SAP signaling in SLE pathogenesis

Rufei Lu, MD, PhD

The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco

Mentor: Eric J. Huang, MD, PhD

Project Title: Understanding pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric lupus

Rachel Randell, MD

Duke University

Mentor: Laura Schanberg, MD

Project Title: Optimizing Adherence in Pediatric Lupus Using an App-Based Medication Diary

Andrea Fava, MD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Mentor: Michelle Petri, MD MPH
Title of Project: Defining the role of immature neutrophil populations and IL-16 in lupus nephritis: a spatially resolved multiomics approach

Irene Chernova, MD PhD
Yale University
Mentor: Joseph Craft, MD
Title of Project: The Role of the Ion Microenvironment on B cell Survival and Function in SLE

Carolina Munoz Grajales MD PhD
Toronto Western Hospital
Mentor: Zahi Touma, MD
Title of Project: Elucidating the Risk Factors and Trajectories of Cognitive Impairment in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Jordan Roberts, MD
Boston Children’s Hospital
Mentor: Mary Beth Son, MD
Title of Project: Assessing the Impact of Immunosuppressants on Infections in Pediatric Lupus

Ellen Cody, MD
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Mentor: Hermine I. Brunner, M.D. M.Sc. M.B.A
Title of Project: Assessing Performance of Urinary Biomarkers, Renal Activity Index for Lupus (RAIL)

Dominique Kinnett-Hopkins, PhD
University of Michigan, School of Kinesiology
Mentor: Rosalind Ramsey-Goldman, MD, DrPH
Title of Project: A Progressive Home-based Exercise Intervention for Persons with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Nicholas Li, MD, PhD
The Ohio State University
Mentor: Brad H. Rovin, MD, FACP, FASN
Title of Project: Characterization of urine complement proteins as biomarkers of lupus nephritis activity

Laura Whittall, MD
University Health Network (Toronto)
Mentor: Murray Urowitz, MD, FRCPC
Title of Project: Interferon alfa as a Biomarker to Predict Lupus Nephritis Response to Treatment

Emily Littlejohn, DO, MPH
Cleveland Clinic
Mentors: Emily Somers, Ph.D, ScM & Jinoos Yazdany, MD, MPH
Study: Longitudinal Antinuclear Antibodies titers from pre-clinical to clinical SLE

Emily Smitherman, MD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Mentor: Aimee Hersh, MD, MS
Study: Evaluating Disease Activity Outcomes in Childhood-Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

May Choi, MD, FRCPC
University of Calgary
Mentor: Karen Costenbader, MD, MPH
Study: LEAAPPS: Longitudinal Examination of ANA Associations, Prevalence, and Performance in SLE

Erik Anderson, MD
Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Mentor: Meggan Mackay, MD, MS
Study: Tryptophan Pathway Activation by Interferon-alpha: Impact on Mood and Cognition in SLE

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Joyce Chang, MD
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Mentors: Andrea M. Knight, Pamela F. Weiss
Study: Attenuated Nocturnal Blood Pressure Dipping and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Child-Onset Lupus

Paul Hoover, MD
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Study: Dissecting the Role of Myeloid Cells in Lupus Nephritis 

The Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program is designed to cultivate a life-long interest in lupus research in young scientists and build the next generation of researchers. The fellowship has supported nearly 200 students who have gone on to further success in the fight against lupus, including producing several publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Keenan Anderson-Fears
Pennsylvania State University
Project Title: Evaluation of Genetic and Clinical Risk Scores to Enhance Incomplete Lupus Erythematosus (ILE) to SLE Progression Identification
Mentor: Dajiang J. Liu, Ph.D., MA, Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Public Health Sciences, Interim Director of Biomedical Informatics and Artificial Intelligence, Co-Chair of Bioinformatics and Genomics PhD Program, Penn State College of Medicine
Co-Mentor: Nancy Olsen, MD, the H. Thomas and Dorothy Willits Hallowell Chair in Rheumatology, Penn State College of Medicine

Aditi Deokar
Dartmouth College
Project Title: Increasing Regulatory T cells to Ameliorate Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Mentor: Yina H. Huang, PhD, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Olivia Favor
Michigan State University
Project Title: Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibition: A Novel Approach for Suppressing Environmentally-Triggered Lupus
Mentor: James J. Pestka, Ph.D., Robert and Carol Deibel Family Professor, University Distinguished Professor, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University

Seong Hee (Joy) Park
Upstate Medical University
Project Title: The role of HRES-1/Rab4-regulated CD38 expression in IL-2 depletion in systemic lupus erythematosus CD4+ T cells
Mentor: Andras Perl, MD, PhD, State University of New York Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Microbiology and Immunology; Vice Chair for Research, Department of Medicine Chief, Division of Rheumatology

Julianne Kleitsch
University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine
Project Title: How to assess the heightened 10-year risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular events specifically in lupus patients? A comparison of published methods for estimating risk with actual events in a 10-year period in our established longitudinal lupus cohort
Mentor: Victoria Werth, MS, MD, Professor of Dermatology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Natalie Toothacre
University of Pennsylvania
Project Title: Elucidating the role of DNA methylation in dynamic X Chromosome Inactivation and lupus disease development in female lymphocytes
Mentor: Montserrat Anguera, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Kristen Bricker
Penn State University College of Medicine
Study Title: miR-21 Regulation of Autoimmune Responses and Lupus Nephritis Development
Mentor: Zia Rahman, MD, PhD Penn State University, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Seerat Chawla
University of Toronto
Study Title: Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms in Systemic Lupus Erythematous Over Time
Mentor: Zahi Touma, MD, Ph.D Assistant Professor of Medicine with the University of Toronto, Clinician-Scientist, Staff Rheumatologist with the University Health Network/Mount Sinai Hospital, adjunct scientist with the Institute for Work and Health and LFA MSAC member

Claudia Lovell
School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Study Title: Defining X Chromosome Inactivation Maintenance and Escape in Age-Associated B Cells
Mentor: Montserrat Anguera, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine

Farnoosh Naderinabi
University of Western Ontario
Study Title: Interferon Alfa as a Biomarker to Predict Lupus Nephritis Response to Treatment
Mentor: Murray B. Urowitz, MD, FRCPC, Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and Director of the Centre for Prognosis Studies in the Rheumatic Diseases and the Lupus Clinic at the Toronto Western Hospital

Tiffany Taylor
University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley
Study Title: Causes of Death Among Minority Populations with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Mentor: Jinoos Yazdany, MD, MPH, Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and the Alice Betts Endowed Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco

Megan Zhao
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Study Title: Assessing the Management of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) Risk Factors in Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (CLE) Patients
Mentor: Victoria P. Werth, M.D, Chief of Dermatology, Philadelphia V.A. Hospital, Professor of Dermatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, Professor of Medicine

Zarina Brune
Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research
Study Title: A novel role for IRF5 in CD4+ T cell metabolism drives autoimmunity
Mentor: Betsy Barnes, PhD Investigator Head, Laboratory of Autoimmune and Cancer Research Professor, Departments of Molecular Medicine and Pediatrics

Meera Dhodapkar
Yale School of Medicine
Study Title: Reactivity of VH4-34 IgG Autoantibodies to Commensal Bacteria in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Mentor: Eric Meffre, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Immunology and Medicine

Sayra Garcia
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Study Title: Investigating the Role of Lipocalin-2 in Neuropsychiatric SLE
Mentor: Chaim Putterman, MD, MBA, Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology

Jennifer He
University Health Network (Toronto)
Study Title: Improving the assessment of cognitive function in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: Insight into intraindividual variability across neuropsychological tests and its association with cognitive impairment
Mentor: Zahi Touma, MD, PhD, FACP, FACR Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto

Jessica Jones
Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
Study Title: Investigation of the differentiation of male and female derived stem cells to pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cells in a chimeric lupus mouse model
Mentor: Trine N. Jorgensen, Associate Director of Research, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at CWRU

Olivia Solomon
University of California, Berkeley
Study Title: Genetic ancestry impacts on differential outcomes of systemic lupus erythematosus
Mentor: Lindsey A. Criswell, MD, MPH, DSc Professor of Medicine and Orofacial Sciences Chief, Division of Rheumatology Jean S. Engleman Distinguished Professor in Rheumatology

Philip Carlucci
New York University School of Medicine
Study Title: The natural killer cell ligand polymorphism HLA-C Asn80Lys and lupus nephritis.
Mentor: Robert Clancy, Ph.D., Professor, New York School of Medicine

Lin Chen
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Study Title: Ptprz: Impact on Tubules and Macrophage Mediated Lupus
Mentor: Vicki Rubin Kelley, Ph.D Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Erica Crosley
Emory School of Medicine
Study Title: Understanding Latino Lupus Patients’ Education Needs via Mixed-Methods Analysis of the Spanish-speaking Facebook Page “Hablemos de Lupus” (“Let’s talk about Lupus”)
Mentor: Christina Drenkard, MD., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Division of Rheumatology, Emory School of Medicine

Erica Moore
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Study Title: The Pathogenic Role of T Cells in Neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Mentor: Chaim Putterman, MD, Chief and Program Director, Division of Rheumatology, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Kathryn Wierenga
Michigan State University
Study Title: Unraveling How Omega-3 Fatty Acids Suppress Lupus Flaring
Mentor: James Pestka, Ph.D., Professor, Michigan State University

Thomas Winans
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Study Title: The Effects of Rab4A Q72L Knock-In Mutation on Interferons I/II Receptors, Behavior and Brain Metabolome in a Mouse Model
Mentor: Andras Perl, M.D. Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Professor, Departments of Medicine, Microbiology, and Immunology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chief, Division of Rheumatology

Marilyn Allen
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Study Title: Nanoparticle Encapsulated Antimalarial Drugs for Improved Lupus Nephritis Treatment
Mentor: Gregory L. Szeto, PhD

Rachel Nelson
Yale School of Medicine
Study Title: Modulation of Antiphospholipid Antibody-Induced Trophoblast Inflammatory Response by Infectious Components
Mentor: Vikki M. Abrahams, PhD

Jennifer Ra
Washington University School of Medicine
Study Title: Virtual Support: The Key to Bringing Social Support into the Home for Patients with SLE 
Mentor:  Alfred H.J. Kim, MD, PhD

Alanna Hirz
The University of California
Study Title: Measuring Resilience as a Key Psychosocial Indicator for Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus 
Mentor: Perry Nicassio, PhD

Mitra Moazzami
University Health Network/University of Toronto
Study Title: Validity and Reliability of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus 
Mentor: Zahi Touma, MD, PhD

Jagan Sivakumaran
University Health Network/University of Toronto
Study Title: Assessment of the QRISK3, SLE Cardiovascular Risk Equation, Modified Framingham and Framingham Risk Calculators as Predictors for Development of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Mentor: Zahi Touma, MD, PhD

The Lupus Foundation of America partners with Lupus Canada to fund innovative lupus research through the Lupus Canada Catalyst Award. The award supports research projects that have the potential to significantly advance the field or impact the lives of people with lupus. 

Researcher: Dr. Éric Boilard

Université Laval

Study examineing the role of platelets and their mother cell, the megakaryocyte (MK), in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Read the project summary

Researchers: Dr. Zahi Touma & Dr. Michelle Barraclough

University Health Network

A pilot study examining the relationship between cognitive dysfunction and cognitive fatigue in SLE using structural and functional MRIs of the brain and focusing on the underlying mechanism.

Read the project summary

Researchers: Dr. Leslie Skeith & Dr. Megan Barber

Mentor: Ann Clarke

University of Calgary 

A prospective cohort study evaluating complement and platelet activation among lupus patients with antiphospholipid syndrome.

Read the project summary