The LRA is driving discovery toward better diagnostics … improved treatments … and ultimately a cure for lupus.

In 2025, the LRA plans to invest millions of dollars in new, cutting-edge lupus research for a cumulative total of more than $270 million in funds that supported 660 individual research awards. Thanks to our dedicated supporters, we are offering real hope to people with lupus—and setting the stage for significant scientific breakthroughs this year … and beyond.

Making Big, Innovative Gains

In 2025, the LRA will continue to build upon the initial success of engineered cell therapies—whose pioneering application to lupus was first funded by the LRA in 2014—an exciting and rapidly evolving field of study that has enormous potential to open new avenues of treatment.

In March of this year, we proudly introduced the 11 inaugural recipients of the 2024 Targeted Research Program on Engineered Cell Therapies for Lupus (TRPECT)—talented scientists who will take this form of therapy to the next level. Their cutting-edge projects funded by the LRA involve “reengineering” immune cells to recognize, target, and destroy disease-causing cells.

One grant recipient, Shaun Jackson, MD, PhD, from Seattle Children’s Hospital, is working to expand on advances made in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy by assessing the safety and feasibility of this revolutionary treatment for children and young adults who have lupus.

Dr. Jackson aims to evaluate if children respond similarly to CD19 CAR T-cell therapy as adults and uncover deeper insights into lupus onset and remission, bringing this revolutionary treatment to children and young adults who typically experience more severe disease.

The LRA is funding Dr. Jackson and the 10 other TRP-ECT grant recipients because we believe this effort could significantly improve the lives of those affected by this challenging disease; yet presently there is much that remains to be learned about this therapeutic approach to further optimize it and make it more accessible. Read more on all 11 studies being conducted through TRP-ECT.