The Lupus Research Alliance mourns the death of Margaret “Peggy” G. Dowd, its former Co-President and Co-CEO and relentless lupus champion.

Peggy served the lupus community with impassioned purpose for nearly 25 years. She first joined the SLE Lupus Foundation in 1994, guiding its evolution into a national organization that provided people with support, education, and resources while raising public awareness of what was then a little-known disease.  In addition, the Foundation funded lupus research, primarily in the New York Tri-State area.  Responding to the urgent need for deeper scientific understanding of lupus, Peggy led the formation in 2000 of the Lupus Research Institute as a national leader in advancing the most innovative lupus research responsible for many of the most pivotal breakthroughs in lupus exploration.

In 2016, Peggy joined forces with the President of the Alliance for Lupus Research Kenneth M. Farber to co-lead the formation of a new organization – the Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) – as the world’s largest private funder of lupus research.  While putting people with lupus at the center, the LRA drives the discovery and development of next generation lupus diagnostics and curative treatments through innovative research and collaborations.

Upon her retirement from the organization, Peggy was recognized as “one of America’s pioneers in novel lupus research, not as a scientist but as an inspirational spark, fostering talent and embracing innovation.”