Summer 2020 Gina M. Finzi Fellows

The Lupus Foundation of America awarded six individuals to receive the 2020 Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Award.

The Finzi Fellows are spending their summer conducting research in areas that are critical to moving the lupus research field forward. The Finzi Fellows are mentored by an established lupus investigator throughout the duration of their research. The results of research by the awardees will contribute to new therapies, prevention strategies and educational interventions to better understand, detect and treat people with lupus.

This year’s fellows are:

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