Research & News

Update on the 2022 National Lupus Advocacy Summit

Since last year, the Lupus Foundation of America has been excitedly preparing to host the 2022 National Lupus Advocacy Summit, while continuing to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic as well as security changes on Capitol Hill.

There is nothing more important to us at the Foundation than the health and well-being of our community. With that in mind, we have made the tough decision to once again transition the Summit to an entirely digital event open to all lupus advocates.

There are two significant factors that have led us to this decision. First, COVID-19 continues to affect Americans and despite the many prevention protocols we would have had in place at the Summit, we believe that an indoor event of its size could carry risk for people living with lupus.

Additionally, significant security changes have been implemented on Capitol Hill over the past year which would make it more difficult to hold our traditional meetings with members of Congress. Those changes, likely to be in place through the end of the year, include the closure of cafeterias and waiting areas in the congressional office buildings, requirements for congressional staff escorts when moving around the buildings, and limits on the number of people able to attend meetings. Moreover, many congressional offices continue to take all meetings virtually and are not accepting in-person meetings.

2022 Digital Lupus Advocacy Summit: June 27-29, 2022

Lupus Foundation of America Rallies Communities to Make Lupus Visible for Lupus Awareness Month

The Lupus Foundation of America is leading the effort to Make Lupus Visible throughout the month of May for Lupus Awareness Month as it rallies communities across the country to raise awareness of lupus and funds to support lupus research, education programs and support services.

Lupus is an unpredictable and misunderstood autoimmune disease that ravages different parts of the body, causing the immune system to attack healthy tissue instead of fighting infections. It is difficult to diagnose, hard to live with and a challenge to treat.

Many of the debilitating symptoms and impacts of lupus can’t be seen - from extreme fatigue and excruciating joint pain to impacts on the organs like the kidneys, heart and lungs. Because many of these symptoms aren’t visible, it can often leave those living with lupus feeling misunderstood and isolated.

Throughout the month of May, the Lupus Foundation of America will be shining light on some of the invisible impacts of lupus including symptoms and diagnosis, the impact of lupus on the body and quality of life, as well as the importance of research and clinical trials.

Department of Defense Releases Pre-Announcement of FY 2022 Lupus Research Funding Opportunities

The FY22 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding for the Lupus Research Program (LRP) to support the full spectrum of research projects or ideas that specifically focus on scientific and clinical lupus issues, which, if successfully addressed, have the potential to make a major impact in lupus research. The managing agent for the anticipated funding opportunities is the CDMRP at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC).

The LRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY22 funding opportunities. The FY22 LRP funding opportunity announcements for the following award mechanisms will be posted on the Grants.gov website. Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the announcements are released.

For more information and to submit your application read more here: https://www.lupus.org/news/department-of-defense-releases-preannouncement-of-fy-2022-lupus-research-funding-opportunities