Recognizing that most major medical breakthroughs come from unexpected directions, the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation works closely with the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) to support novel science and new investigators.

The LRI is the only organization exclusively funding novel lupus research, casting a broad net to identify and support scientists with the brightest new ideas that have the potential to unlock the mysteries of lupus. Since its founding in 2000, the Lupus Research Institute has invested almost $20 million in novel lupus research, providing funding for 73 studies at 43 academic medical institutions in 22 states.

This bold approach to preventing, treating, and curing lupus is now showing remarkable advances—and the proof lies in the number of scientists who have expanded their work through government grants.

In an unprecedented measure of success, 65 percent of researchers from the first and second round of novel research grants (in 2001 and 2002) have secured extended funding to pursue their hypotheses, turning an overall $6 million LRI investment into more than $23 million from the National Institutes of Health and others.

Furthermore, seven LRI research projects show early promise for translation into direct patient care, including two new drug therapies already in development and potentially new diagnostic tools now being tested in patients.

Information on the latest research projects of the Lupus Research Institute is available at www.lupusresearchinstitute.org.