Recipients to support the advancement of promising treatments, helping move discoveries closer to people living with lupus
The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA), the world’s largest private funder of lupus research, today announced the recipients of the 2026 Translational Bridge Award, a program designed to accelerate the pace of promising discoveries translated into viable products reaching those living with lupus. This year’s recipients will explore treatment options with the potential to improve skin and kidney response – two serious manifestations of lupus with critical unmet need and significant burden on those living with the disease.
Lupus affects millions of people worldwide. Although advances in lupus research have improved diagnostics and treatments over the years, there still exists a significant lag between scientific discovery and therapies reaching patients. The Translational Bridge Awards program was created to help close that gap by supporting research with strong potential to progress toward clinical application.
“Too often, promising scientific discoveries face significant hurdles on the path to becoming therapies,” Maya Bader, PhD, Director of Research at the Lupus Research Alliance, said. “These awards reflect our commitment to nurturing promising research across the full innovation pipeline – helping investigators translate important discoveries into new possibilities for people living with lupus.”
Providing up to $450,000 over two years, the program also places significant priority on advancing discoveries previously funded by the Lupus Research Alliance. The organization supported the foundational discoveries of both selected recipients through the 2021 Lupus Innovation Awards to pursue data with clinical promise. They are:
- Nunzio Bottini, MD, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is a form of lupus that affects the skin. It is driven by two key cell types: plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), which drive inflammation, and skin fibroblasts, which contribute to scarring. While most current treatments focus on reducing inflammation, none address both cell types, and about half of patients do not respond adequately. Dr. Bottini has developed a promising antibody therapy that activates a protein that is switched off in people with CLE. By restoring this protein’s activity, the antibody can help block the harmful actions of both pDCs and skin fibroblasts. Early studies showed the therapy was effective in a mouse model of lupus. Dr. Bottini will now advance the development of the antibody with the goal of moving it toward clinical trials, potentially offering a breakthrough treatment for patients. - Jim Oates, MD, Medical University of South Carolina
Lupus nephritis, a serious complication of lupus that causes inflammation in the kidneys, can lead to permanent damage to the kidneys and blood vessels. Unfortunately, this damage often continues even with current treatments, which primarily work by suppressing the immune system. Researchers have found that endothelial cells, the cells that line blood vessels, do not function properly in people with lupus nephritis – contributing to kidney damage, inflammation, and an increased risk of heart disease. Dr. Oates is investigating L-sepiapterin – a drug approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for a disorder marked by elevated levels of amino acids in the blood. He is exploring if this can help restore healthy blood vessel function in these patients, providing critical early evidence to inform additional, larger clinical trial testing. Because people with lupus nephritis face a high risk of kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, and early death, this innovative approach has the potential to address the underlying causes of kidney and vascular damage, improve quality of life, and transform care for people living with lupus.
To learn more about the program and selected projects, visit LupusResearch.org/Funded-Research.
About Lupus
Lupus is a chronic, complex autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In lupus, the immune system, meant to defend against infections, produces autoantibodies that mistake the body’s own cells as foreign, causing other immune cells to attack organs such as the kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, and skin, as well as blood and joints. Ninety percent of people with lupus are women, most often diagnosed between the ages of 15-45. Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander people are disproportionately affected by lupus.
About the Lupus Research Alliance
The Lupus Research Alliance is the largest non-governmental, non-profit funder of lupus research worldwide. The organization aims to transform treatment by funding the most innovative lupus research, fostering scientific talent, and driving discovery toward better diagnostics, improved treatments and, ultimately, a cure for lupus. Because the Lupus Research Alliance’s Board of Directors funds all administrative and fundraising costs, 100% of all donations go to support lupus research programs.
For more information or to donate to lupus research, visit the LRA at LupusResearch.org and on social media at: X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Media Contact:
Margy Meislin
MMeislin@lupusresearch.org
Tags: L-sepiapterin, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Jim Oates, lupus nephritis, cutaneous lupus, Medical University of South Carolina, Nunzio Bottini