12 Sep 2012
2007-2008 Are you susceptible to RA? It may be in your genes… Alyssa Johnsen, M.D., Ph.D. Joslin Diabetes Center Boston, MA Identification of Genes Governing Susceptibility to Inflammatory Arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is caused by a complex set of environmental and genetic factors. Currently, only a small number of...
12 Sep 2012
2007-2008 Autoimmune Disorder Target: DRAK2 Martina Gatzka, Ph.D. University of California Irvine, CA Modulation of central and peripheral immunological tolerance by DRAK2, a negative regulatory of lymphocyte signaling This is Dr. Gatzka’s second year of work in autoimmune disorders, studying the body’s natural surveillance mechanisms. When T lymphocytes (T...
12 Sep 2012
2007-2008 A New Model for Treating Scleroderma Edwin Chan, M.D. New York University School of Medicine New York, NY Purinergic Signaling in Dermal Fibrosis Scleroderma is a devastating rheumatic disease affecting many different organs in the body. Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment known at this time. One of...
12 Sep 2012
2007-2008 Beyond TNF: A Newly Discovered Cytokine may provide new target for RA Therapy Christopher Benedict, Ph.D. La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology San Diego, CA Analyzing the contribution of the LIGHT-HVEM-BTLA system in autoimmune arthritis Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a cytokine produced by the body’s immune...
12 Sep 2012
2007-2008 Understanding Inflammatory Progression in RA Mei Chen, M.D., Ph.D. Brigham & Women’s Hospital Boston, MA The Mechanisms of LTB4-induced Migration and Invasion in Fibroblast-like Synoviocytes (FLS) Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disease that primarily targets synovial tissues, which forms the joint lining and produces lubricating...
12 Sep 2012
2008-2009 Osteoarthritis: Targeting a Protein in Cartilage Damage Noboru Taniguchi, M.D., Ph.D. The Scripps Research Institute La Jolla, CA A novel chromatin protein involved in cartilage homeostasis and osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent joint disease. In 1990 approximately 40 million Americans were affected and this number is predicted...
12 Sep 2012
2008-2009 New RA Therapy Explored: IL-27 Shiva Shahrara, Ph.D. Northwestern University Chicago, IL Recipient of The Sontag Foundation Fellow of the ANRF The Role of IL-27 in Experimental Arthritis IL-17 is a pro-inflammatory mediator that is expressed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) joint tissue and joint fluid. IL-17 is...
12 Sep 2012
2008-2009 Role of T Cells in Arthritis Christina Roark, Ph.D. National Jewish Medical and Research Center Denver, CO The Regulatory Role of Th-17 Like ?d T Cells in Collagen-Induced Arthritis The importance of the cytokine, IL-17, in autoimmune diseases has led to numerous studies investigating the development of the...
12 Sep 2012
2008-2009 Genetic Study of Defective Tolerance in Lupus Ziaur Rahman, M.D., Ph.D. Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, PA Impact of lupus susceptibility loci on peripheral B cell tolerance Virginia L. Riddle Memorial Fellowship of the ANRF The body has an efficient and complex system known as the immune system that develops...
12 Sep 2012
2008-2009 Specific Cytokine Identified as Risk Factor for Lupus Timothy Niewold, M.D. University of Chicago Chicago, IL Genetic Determinants of Lupus Risk Acting Via the Interferon Alpha Pathway Lupus is a complex disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organ systems. For the...
