Lupus Foundation of America Supports the Advancement of Childhood Lupus Research Through Two Pediatric Lupus Grants

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) is pleased to announce two recipients of pediatric lupus research grants. The grants will support the advancement of childhood lupus research by evaluating the impact of the environment on genetic changes that lead to the development of lupus and the impact of genetic variation on disease progression.

The 2024 recipients are:

• Hajera Amatullah, PhD, MPH, University of Pennsylvania
• Liyoung Kim, MD, Boston Children's Hospital

In 2006, the LFA established the Michael Jon Barlin Pediatric Research Program in memory of Michael Jon Barlin who passed away at the age of 24 following a long battle with lupus. The LFA is the first and only lupus advocacy organization in the United States with a dedicated childhood lupus research agenda.

"Childhood lupus presents a unique challenge because of its aggressive nature, and life-threatening organ involvement," said Joy Buie, PhD, MSCR, RN, Vice President of Research, Lupus Foundation of America. "The Lupus Foundation of America has long been committed to lupus research focused on children and teens so that we can help address their greatest needs and improve their quality of life."

"Population health studies have long emphasized the need to focus our efforts on childhood lupus," shared Karen H. Costenbader, MD, MPH, Chair of the Lupus Foundation of America's Medical-Scientific Advisory Council. "This grant supports the development of possible treatments and helps us to learn how to better serve children and teens with lupus so they can fulfill their dreams with a better quality of life and improved prognosis."

The grant recipients are dedicated to advancing childhood lupus research and will be studying in the following important areas:

• Hajera Amatullah, PhD, MPH aims to provide evidence of epigenetic dysregulation (which explores how environmental factors turn genes on or off without altering the DNA itself) in myeloid cells (immune cells that respond to diverse environmental signals) as contributors of systemic lupus erythematosus pathology. This will shed light on potentially novel targets for therapeutic strategies for children with lupus.
• Liyoung Kim, MD seeks to understand the correlation between genetic variations and disease progression in children with lupus. This will lay the foundation for the use of human genomics to understand the complex mechanisms that lead to the wide range of symptoms seen in children with childhood-onset SLE (cSLE). This will be a crucial step towards providing precision treatment for them.

Learn more about these pediatric grant recipients and their studies here.

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