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American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation awards new research grants for Rheumatoid Arthritis Research

Newswise — The American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation (ACR REF) has selected 15 experienced researchers from leading institutions to receive an estimated $6 million from the Foundation’s Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis campaign.

The awards are the second round of grants funded by the $30 million national multi-year fundraising effort focused specifically on rheumatoid arthritis.

The American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation launched the Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis campaign in November 2006 to accelerate RA research and expand financial support for this disease which affects an estimated 1.3 million Americans.

The program is designed to raise funds for RA research so that, with the guidance of ACR Research and Education Foundation, Within Our Reach will continue to pioneer advances in RA research.

"There have been great strides made in the treatment and management of RA and it is crucial that we continue to financially support RA research,” said Dr. Leslie J. Crofford, President of the REF.

"We are confident that the new grantees are among the brightest and most promising researchers in their field and will play a critical role in moving us closer to a cure."

As one of the largest funders of rheumatology research and training programs in the U.S, the ACR Research and Education Foundation received numerous grant applications from the nation’s most outstanding and distinguished researchers.

The Within Our Reach campaign has built a reputation for supporting research not done elsewhere and after an extensive peer review process, the REF is continuing this tradition by selecting the most promising proposals with new and unprecedented approaches to RA research. Grant recipients include:

Innovative Basic Research

Paul Ryan Thompson, PhD
University of South Carolina
Inhibition of PAD Function as a Novel Treatment Strategy for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Gregg J. Silverman, MD
The University of California, San Diego
Natural Antibody Treatment of Inflammatory Arthritis

Ellen M.Gravallese, MD
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Role of sFRP1 and WNT Signaling in Formation and Repair of Erosions in RA

Michael B. Brenner, MD
Brigham and Women's Hospital
How FLS Mediate Cadherin-11 Dependent Inflammation in RA

Xu Feng, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
In vivo Validation of Novel Therapeutic Targets for Arthritic Bone Erosion

Song Guo Zheng, MD
Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California
Generation of Collagen-specific CD4+Foxp3+regulatory T cells Ex-vivoas an Adoptive Immunotherapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Richard M. Pope, MD
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Endogenous Toll-like Receptor Ligands in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Shiva Shahrara, PhD
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
The Role of IL-17 in the Pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Steven Reyburn Goldring, MD
Hospital for Special Surgery
Bone Matrix-Induced Osteoclast Genes: Identification of Novel Targets for RA
Translational Research

Larry W. Moreland, MD
University of Pittsburgh
Multi-cytokine Profiling and Correlates with Outcome Measures and Treatment Responses in Patients with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis

Peter K. Gregersen, MD
Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Cross Racial Strategies for Gene Identification in Rheumatoid Arthritis

William F. C. Rigby, MD
Dartmouth College
CD154 CA Repeat Polymorphisms and RA Pathogenesis

Carl Grunfeld, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Novel Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Robert M. Plenge, MD, PhD
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Genome-wide Association Study of Response to Anti-TNF Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Clinical Practice

Kenneth G. Saag, MD, MSc

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Improving Bone Health Among RA Patients on Chronic Glucocorticoids

About Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis affects an estimated 1.3 million Americans, yet funding to find new treatments and ultimately a cure remains significantly low compared to other autoimmune diseases.

To address the critical need for additional funding and research support, the REF launched Within Our Reach in November 2006.

Within Our Reach is the largest private fundraising campaign in the REF’s history.

It will tap a diverse donor base, and funds raised will support innovative research to learn more about the causes of RA and, ultimately, to find a cure.

Since November 2006, the campaign has received tremendous support from the pharmaceutical industry, biotech companies, physicians and patients, raising more than $18 million.

Specific research areas for Within Our Reach include:

• Innovative Basic Research: Research in this area will help us understand what causes RA and develop novel treatments.

• Translational Research: Translational research is the direct study of patients and patient-derived materials to improve the understanding of RA. Research in this area will study the joint and its cells and tissues to develop methods to repair and replace damaged cartilage and bone.

• Clinical Practice: This area explores the issues that directly affect the clinical practice of rheumatology and patient access. This research can possibly lead to the development of methods to identify individuals at risk for RA to facilitate prevention and early treatment.

• Novel Clinical Trials: Novel clinical trials will address the unmet needs in the development of new treatments for patients who may be resistant to conventional treatments or biologics.

• Collaborative Projects: Collaborative projects are large-scale collaborative research groups where expertise from multiple sites and investigators are joined together to solve one problem with comprehensive and innovative approaches.

“No other organization is better equipped to help meet the demand for better patient care today while advancing the course of research that will yield tomorrow’s medical breakthroughs,” added Dr. Crofford.

“We are confident the research Within Our Reach yields will enhance rheumatologists’ ability to diagnose and treat patients suffering from this painful and potentially debilitating disease.”

To learn more about rheumatoid arthritis and the campaign, please visit http://www.WithinOurReach.info .