May 10, 2022
The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) and our clinical affiliate Lupus Therapeutics proudly share that one of our distinguished awardees and world-renowned lupus researcher Betty Diamond, MD was elected into the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Diamond was recognized by the Academy for her breakthrough achievements in molecular medicine and original research.
Dr. Diamond is Director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine & Maureen and Ralph Nappi Professor of Autoimmune Diseases, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. She also serves as Director, PhD Program and Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
“It is an honor to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. It is a time to acknowledge the many trainees and collaborators whose work led to this honor,” said Dr. Diamond. “Together, we will continue to produce knowledge to cure disease.”
“Election into the National Academy of Sciences is one of the highest honors a scientist can receive,” said Dr. Teodora Staeva LRA Chief Scientific Officer. “We are thrilled with Dr. Betty Diamond’s well-deserved distinction and grateful for her research efforts in lupus as well as her service to the Lupus Research Alliance.”
Dr. Diamond has made remarkable discoveries in several areas related to lupus pathogenesis including the generation of autoantibodies, the contribution of anti-DNA antibodies to neuropsychiatric lupus, the role of hormones in B cell tolerance, and the role of innate immunity. Dr. Diamond has also conducted a number of clinical trials in SLE and currently works with Lupus Therapeutics to conduct lupus trials as a member of their Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN).
Dr. Diamond’s laboratory studies DNA-reactive B cells in the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus. They also examine whether autoantibodies in individuals with autoimmune disease or protective antibodies in non-autoimmune individuals might frequently cause brain injury if they penetrate the blood-brain barrier.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and—with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine—provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.
