NYC Scientists Receive S.L.E. Lupus Foundation Grant for New Research

News Medical—April 6, 2011

New York City's S.L.E. Lupus Foundation is pleased to name the latest recipient of its Career Development and Basic Science Fellowships: Josephine Isgro, MD of Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).

These grants push the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation's lifetime investment in New York City-based lupus research past $17 million-an unparalleled sum for private sector lupus research funding and investigator training in any single metropolitan area.

"The S.L.E. Lupus Foundation has been key in making New York City the nation's leader in lupus research and results that matter for people with this disease," said Bruce Cronstein, MD, of New York University, chairman of the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation's Medical Advisory Board.

Since 1977, the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation has distributed nearly 200 grants to more than 139 young scientists in the New York area to help ensure that the most talented and ambitious minds enter-and remain-in the field of lupus research, while building the city as a global center of discovery and care.

With their award funds, the new grantees will work with mentors to explore potential treatments, and possible causes, for lupus:

Dr. Isgro at HSS, a Brooklyn native, will explore with her mentor Alessandra Pernis, MD, PhD, a target for a new lupus therapy that uses statins, which are commonly known drugs for lowering cholesterol.

"The S.L.E. Lupus Foundation fellowship grant was the very first research grant I received," adds Jane Salmon, MD, co-director of the Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research at HHS and a 1981 Basic Science Fellowship winner. "It motivated me and made me believe that people had confidence in me as a scientist. It changed my life and it enabled me to begin an independent career in lupus research, which I've been pursuing now for over 30 years."

New York-area academic medical centers with scientists who have received funds from the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation and the Lupus Research Institute include:

Hospital for Special Surgery: $4.4 million via 52 grants
Albert Einstein College of Medicine: $3.2 million via 39 grants
Columbia University Medical Center: $2.6 million via 18 grants
NYU/Hospital for Joint Diseases: $2 million via 32 grants
North Shore/LIJ-Feinstein Institute: $1.2 million via 16 grants

Read the full story at News-Medical.net.