On Thursday, August 14, 2024, officials from MMRI received a surprise announcement by LADA President and CEO, Kathleen Arntsen, that its three previously supported SLE research projects would receive an additional $50,000 each this year, and for one new project focused on lupus nephritis, which received an additional $50,000, totaling $200,000. The check was presented at LADA’s 24th Lupus Charity Golf Classic, located at Shenendoah Golf Course at Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York.
MMRI scientists aim to understand how specific enzyme activities influence SLE progression, create new therapeutic agents for SLE and investigate the role of immune cell activity in causing venous thromboembolism.
“As a national patient-led organization, we have chosen to support the MMRI’s lupus research program because research is extremely important to us,” said Kathleen A. Arntsen, president & CEO, Lupus and Allied Diseases Association, Inc. “We are honored to continue funding their pioneering lupus projects this year, which brings our overall grant total to MMRI to $615,000.”
The MMRI research funded by LADA is focused on preventing and treating SLE, a devastating autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack a person’s own tissue, causing inflammation in the skin, joints, blood, heart, lungs, brain and kidneys, and leads to extreme exhaustion, fevers, skin rashes, hair loss and anemia.
“We are deeply grateful to LADA for their commitment, partnership and support of our work, allowing us to push the boundaries of lupus research,” said Maria Kontaridis, Ph.D., executive director and Gordon K. Moe professor and chair of biomedical research and translational medicine at MMRI. “Every dollar invested brings us one step closer to understanding this complex disease, finding better treatments, and ultimately improving the lives of those affected by lupus. Their support is truly a beacon of hope for millions.”
In addition to its financial support, MMRI partnered with LADA on Saturday, May 18, 2024, to hold Utica’s first walk to support lupus research, and in honor of lupus awareness month. The event welcomed more than 350 people to walk at the Masonic Care Community Campus in support of the devastating autoimmune disease.
To learn more about MMRI, visit mmri.edu. To learn more about LADA, visit ladainc.org.
Photo attached (from left to right): Samantha Le Sommer, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow at MMRI; Myles Dodgson, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow at MMRI; Ed Colon, lead maintenance mechanic at MMRI; Curt Fowler, facilities manager at MMRI; Greg Wang, Ph.D., research scientist at MMRI; Nicole Knoblock, events coordinator at MMRI; Maria Kontaridis, Ph.D., executive director at MMRI, Kathleen Arntsen, president and CEO at LADA; Robert Hewson, DPM, board president at MMRI; Jason McCarthy, Ph.D., associate professor and scientific operations director at MMRI; Millie Occhionero, director of marketing and communications at MMRI; Chase Kessinger, Ph.D., assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine at MMRI.
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