Arthritis Foundation Commits Over $1.5 Million to Advance Rheumatoid Arthritis Research
Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Program grants will help investigators explore the causes of RA, RA comorbidities and the social determinants of RA treatment adherence.
ATLANTA (Dec. 20, 2024) — The Arthritis Foundation is pleased to announce the awardees of this year's Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Program grants, totaling approximately $1.5 million. The grants have been awarded to six investigators whose research will unveil crucial insights into the underlying causes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), RA comorbidities, and the social determinants of RA treatment adherence.
People living with RA endure chronic autoimmune disease marked by progressive joint damage. Further, most patients experience the brunt of bone erosion during the first two years of the disease. Before clinical signs and symptoms of inflammatory arthritis have developed, also known as the preclinical RA phase, patients often show immune system changes that are detectable on screening tests, such as high levels of circulating anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA). However, not all patients who are ACPA-positive end up with RA. Therefore, identifying more early and accurate immunological signatures of disease progression is needed to predict who is at high risk.
In this regard, RA Research program winner Fan Zhang, PhD, assistant professor at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado, will use machine learning to develop novel disease prediction models to characterize changes in immunity during preclinical RA. Also leveraging the power of artificial intelligence algorithms, awardee Mehmet Hocaoğlu, MD, a rheumatology fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, will use machine learning to discover unique and shared risk factors between preclinical RA and RA patients.
In another Arthritis Foundation-funded project, grant awardee Thomas Riley, MD, a postdoctoral fellow at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, will analyze whether combined genetic risks for RA predict the severity of disease activity and treatment response using the RA patient data from the Veterans Affairs Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry.
Winner of the large grant award, Christopher Striebich, MD, PhD, associate professor at the University of Colorado Denver, will use longitudinal clinical data of ACPA-positive patients to develop mathematical models to predict the likelihood of developing RA and the timing of disease onset. Another large grant awardee, Jefferey Sparks, MD, assistant professor at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, will investigate if cytotoxic T cells (also known as “killer” T cells) extracted from early RA patients are linked to interstitial lung disease (ILD). He will combine this analysis with high-resolution imaging to determine which patients will develop ILD and how it progresses.
"There is a gap in the understanding of the mechanisms of RA pathogenesis and their impact on joints and other organ systems," says Paul Larkin, PhD, vice president of science at the Arthritis Foundation. "With the RA Research Program, we encourage RA research that will help us better understand the biology of the disease and thus inform both today’s care practices and tomorrow’s new treatments."
Over the last few decades, biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have tremendously helped in slowing the progress of RA. However, the cost of these drugs can cause patients to discontinue their medications. Pilot grant winner Aryana Sepassi, PharmD, assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine, will determine differences in DMARD initiation and abandonment among White, Hispanic, Black, and Asian patients receiving Medicare as a function of socioeconomic status and how these treatment decisions affect RA outcomes.
"We at the Arthritis Foundation are committed to supporting research that can make important contributions to the future of RA treatment and management," says Steven Taylor, president and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation. "The long-term goal of the RA Research Program is to fund research that will reduce the incidence of RA and slow disease progression."
The Arthritis Foundation launched the RA Research Program in 2021. Through collaborations with experts from government and academia, the Foundation has refined its priorities in RA research by focusing on knowledge gaps in understanding the biological underpinnings of RA, particularly treatment-resistant RA, risk factors influencing disease progression and comorbidities.
2024 Rheumatoid Arthritis Program Awardees
1. Tom (Thomas) Riley, MD, Penn Medicine
$150,000
Using polygenic risk for disease susceptibility to predict disease severity and treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
2. Aryana Sepassi, PharmD, University of California, Irvine
$150,000
Effects of Socioeconomic and Racial/Ethnic Status on Biologic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Agents for Medicare Beneficiaries
3. Fan Zhang, PhD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
$149,557
Uncovering dynamic immunophenotypes by developing novel AI methods to predict RA onset
4. Mehmet Hocaoğlu, MD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
$150,000
Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Progression to Rheumatoid Arthritis Using Machine Learning Model Predictions
5. Chris (Christopher) Striebich, MD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
$488,662
National Network to Prospectively Study Individuals at Risk for Rheumatoid Arthritis
6. Jeff (Jeffrey) Sparks, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital
$450,000
Cellular Biomarkers for Risk and Progression of Subclinical Interstitial Lung Disease in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis
About the Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation is fighting for all people who live with arthritis. The Foundation’s mission is to turn the obstacles arthritis causes into opportunities. The Arthritis Foundation champions life-changing solutions and medical advancements, and it also provides ways for people to connect, break down barriers in health care and join the fight for a cure — uniting hearts, minds and resources to change the future of arthritis. To join the fight to conquer arthritis, visit arthritis.org.
People living with RA endure chronic autoimmune disease marked by progressive joint damage. Further, most patients experience the brunt of bone erosion during the first two years of the disease. Before clinical signs and symptoms of inflammatory arthritis have developed, also known as the preclinical RA phase, patients often show immune system changes that are detectable on screening tests, such as high levels of circulating anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA). However, not all patients who are ACPA-positive end up with RA. Therefore, identifying more early and accurate immunological signatures of disease progression is needed to predict who is at high risk.
In this regard, RA Research program winner Fan Zhang, PhD, assistant professor at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado, will use machine learning to develop novel disease prediction models to characterize changes in immunity during preclinical RA. Also leveraging the power of artificial intelligence algorithms, awardee Mehmet Hocaoğlu, MD, a rheumatology fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, will use machine learning to discover unique and shared risk factors between preclinical RA and RA patients.
In another Arthritis Foundation-funded project, grant awardee Thomas Riley, MD, a postdoctoral fellow at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, will analyze whether combined genetic risks for RA predict the severity of disease activity and treatment response using the RA patient data from the Veterans Affairs Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry.
Winner of the large grant award, Christopher Striebich, MD, PhD, associate professor at the University of Colorado Denver, will use longitudinal clinical data of ACPA-positive patients to develop mathematical models to predict the likelihood of developing RA and the timing of disease onset. Another large grant awardee, Jefferey Sparks, MD, assistant professor at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, will investigate if cytotoxic T cells (also known as “killer” T cells) extracted from early RA patients are linked to interstitial lung disease (ILD). He will combine this analysis with high-resolution imaging to determine which patients will develop ILD and how it progresses.
"There is a gap in the understanding of the mechanisms of RA pathogenesis and their impact on joints and other organ systems," says Paul Larkin, PhD, vice president of science at the Arthritis Foundation. "With the RA Research Program, we encourage RA research that will help us better understand the biology of the disease and thus inform both today’s care practices and tomorrow’s new treatments."
Over the last few decades, biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have tremendously helped in slowing the progress of RA. However, the cost of these drugs can cause patients to discontinue their medications. Pilot grant winner Aryana Sepassi, PharmD, assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine, will determine differences in DMARD initiation and abandonment among White, Hispanic, Black, and Asian patients receiving Medicare as a function of socioeconomic status and how these treatment decisions affect RA outcomes.
"We at the Arthritis Foundation are committed to supporting research that can make important contributions to the future of RA treatment and management," says Steven Taylor, president and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation. "The long-term goal of the RA Research Program is to fund research that will reduce the incidence of RA and slow disease progression."
The Arthritis Foundation launched the RA Research Program in 2021. Through collaborations with experts from government and academia, the Foundation has refined its priorities in RA research by focusing on knowledge gaps in understanding the biological underpinnings of RA, particularly treatment-resistant RA, risk factors influencing disease progression and comorbidities.
2024 Rheumatoid Arthritis Program Awardees
1. Tom (Thomas) Riley, MD, Penn Medicine
$150,000
Using polygenic risk for disease susceptibility to predict disease severity and treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
2. Aryana Sepassi, PharmD, University of California, Irvine
$150,000
Effects of Socioeconomic and Racial/Ethnic Status on Biologic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Agents for Medicare Beneficiaries
3. Fan Zhang, PhD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
$149,557
Uncovering dynamic immunophenotypes by developing novel AI methods to predict RA onset
4. Mehmet Hocaoğlu, MD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
$150,000
Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Progression to Rheumatoid Arthritis Using Machine Learning Model Predictions
5. Chris (Christopher) Striebich, MD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
$488,662
National Network to Prospectively Study Individuals at Risk for Rheumatoid Arthritis
6. Jeff (Jeffrey) Sparks, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital
$450,000
Cellular Biomarkers for Risk and Progression of Subclinical Interstitial Lung Disease in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis
About the Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation is fighting for all people who live with arthritis. The Foundation’s mission is to turn the obstacles arthritis causes into opportunities. The Arthritis Foundation champions life-changing solutions and medical advancements, and it also provides ways for people to connect, break down barriers in health care and join the fight for a cure — uniting hearts, minds and resources to change the future of arthritis. To join the fight to conquer arthritis, visit arthritis.org.
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