As part of its mission to advance lupus research, the Lupus research Institute (LRI) collaborates with the American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation (ACR REF) to encourage qualified physicians without significant prior research experience to develop a career in lupus.

This mentored post-doctoral fellowship program provides for research training among established lupus investigators, and an affiliation with a clinical unit involved in the care of lupus patients.

Since the fellowship program started in 2002, four scientists have received the awards:

2006
Ingrid B. Avalos, MD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN
Aspirin Resistance in Rheumatic Disease

Dr. Avalos will evaluate how people with lupus respond to low-dose aspirin, a medicine that many take to protect against accelerated atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. Aspirin is thought to provide cardiovascular protection by inhibiting platelet aggregation through suppression of thromboxane biosynthesis. It inhibits an enzyme called cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), which under normal conditions is the major source of thromboxane. However, inflammatory stimuli induce production of thromboxane via a separate pathway that relies on another enzyme, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). This enzyme is not effectively inhibited by aspirin.

Dr. Avalos is trying to gain a better understanding of this process and to determine if additional anti-thrombotic therapy would be more effective than aspirin in suppressing thromboxane production in people with lupus. More »

2005
Sonwoo Lee, MD
University of California, Los Angeles
Immunomodulatory Effect of Recombinant Galectin-1 in Animal Model of Lupus

Dr. Lee's research experiments in mice are designed to shed light on the powerful immune-modulating effects of recombinant galectin-1 in lupus. Greater understanding of this agent as a therapeutic tool for the prevention or treatment of lupus in mice may serve, as an initial step toward its use in humans with lupus. More »

2004
Joyce Hsu, MD
Stanford University
Disease Presentation and Short-Term Outcome of Pediatric S.L.E. in Asian-Americans, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic Caucasians

Dr. Hsu's research focus is in pediatric lupus. Her specific research goal is to determine the factors that predict severity in childhood-onset lupus in order to target more specific and aggressive treatment to prevent poor outcomes. More »

2003 (completed)
Maureen McMahon, MD
University of California, Los Angeles
The Role of Abnormal Protective HDL in S.L.E.

Dr. McMahon focused on accelerated atherosclerosis (the development of hardened areas or plaques in the blood vessels of the heart) in women with lupus and contributed to groundbreaking findings in identifying a lupus artery-hardening cholesterol, pro-inflammatory HDL, that were reported at the 2005 annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in San Diego. (To read more about this study, click here).

Dr. McMahon plans to continue her examination of accelerated atherosclerosis in women with lupus. "The practice of constant questioning that is central to research also has allowed me to approach patient care from a different perspective, and has encouraged me to think of new ways to help my patients," says Dr. McMahon. "I strongly encourage other physicians to engage in research."