A bold research strategy to impact people living with lupus
In 2018, the Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) developed and adopted a research strategy that has significantly advanced the field and laid the groundwork for the discovery and development of new treatments and cures that will improve the lives of those living with lupus. The ambitious objectives of this strategy were achieved, including the dramatic expansion of the organization’s grants portfolio and the launch of groundbreaking initiatives such as the Lupus Accelerating Breakthroughs Consortium (Lupus ABC), a public-private partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), dedicated to accelerating the development of safer and more effective lupus therapies, and the Lupus Nexus, a unique registry, biorepository, and data sharing platform.
Leveraging the recent scientific and clinical breakthroughs, in 2023, LRA developed a new Research Roadmap for the next five years that integrates the organization’s programs and initiatives across the full spectrum of research, from foundational to translational to clinical. Building on the success of its prior strategy, this roadmap aims to further scientific advances to benefit those living with lupus, with an emphasis on global collaborations and streamlining LRA’s research continuum. This includes a deeper integration between LRA’s Research Department and LRA’s clinical research affiliate, Lupus Therapeutics, to accelerate precision medicine and clinical development.
A rigorous strategic planning process, informed by a committee of lupus experts and people living with lupus, culminated in a strategy in which each goal aims to directly impact people with lupus. By implementing this strategy and achieving its new goals, the LRA envisions a future where patients are promptly diagnosed, stratified by their molecular and clinical features and offered personalized treatments and possible cures.
LRA’s 2024–2028 Research Strategy: Supporting the Full Research Continuum
The LRA will continue to focus on the full spectrum of research, from basic to clinical, to maximize the impact of every research dollar and bring more treatments to people living with lupus.
LRA Leverages Core Programs and Lupus Therapeutics
Funding mechanisms
Lupus Nexus
Lupus ABC
Lupus Therapeutics
Across the Full Research Spectrum
- Foundational
- Translational
- Clinical
To Achieve its Strategic Research Goals
- Understand human lupus heterogeneity
- Increase number of molecular stratification, prognostic, and diagnostic tools
- Accelerate immune resetting treatments
To Deliver Patient-Centered Outcomes
- Reduce time to diagnosis
- Improve prognosis
- Develop personalized treatments
- Identify potentially curative treatments
Research Strategy Planning Committee (RSPC)
LRA gratefully acknowledges the members of our Research Strategy Planning Committee.
- Michelle Kahlenberg, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Michigan) – RSPC Co Chair
- Gary Koretzky, M.D., Ph.D. (Cornell University) – RSPC Chair
- Hugh Auchincloss, Jr., M.D. (NIH, NIAID)
- Roberto Caricchico, M.D. (University of Massachusetts)
- Andy Chan, M.D., Ph.D. (Genentech)
- Maria Dall’Era, M.D. (UCSF)
- Elena Hsieh, M.D. (University of Colorado)
- Arezou Khosroshahi, M.D. (Emory University)
- Molly McCabe (LRA BOD)
- Marie Nierras, Ph.D. (NID, OD)
- John O’Shea, M.D. (NIH, NIAMS)
- Christopher Reed, J.D. (Project CHANGE SC)
- Pete Schafer, Ph.D. (BMS)
- Diana Tive (LRA)
- P.J. Utz, M.D. (Stanford University)
- Carola Vinuesa, M.D., Ph.D. (Francis Crick Institute)
- Edward Vital, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Leeds)
- Adam Winseck, Ph.D., M.B.A. (Novartis)
And a special thanks to our Research Committee of the LRA Board and Scientific Advisory Board for their contributions to the Research Strategic Planning process.
Research Committee of the Board Scientific Advisory Board Members
