Earlier this year, weawarded funding to six scientistsfor projects submitted that show remarkable innovations and steps towards finding a cure for arthritis and related diseases. For the first time, we included patient input in selecting the projects that showed the most promise and meant the most to them.
Incorporating the patient voice is a vital component of all our projects and initiatives. Having patients weigh in this year on something so critical as our Delivery on Discovery scientific awards signifies just how seriously we take patient input.
“Including patient input as part of the selection process was a new milestone in patient engagement for the Arthritis Foundation and allowed us to select projects that hold the most promise from an arthritis patient’s point of view, said Guy Eakin, senior vice president, scientific strategy. “We worked with our scientific advisors and patients to select projects that show near-term advancements for a wide array of arthritis types.”
In 2016, 159 project teams submitted letters of intent (LOIs) for the Delivering on Discovery solicitation. A total of 18 patient reviewers and seven scientific reviewers selected 59 of those teams to submit full proposals for scientific peer review. After scientific peer review, the top 10 proposals were then reviewed by the Scientific Discovery Advisory Committee (SDAC) and, for the first time, arthritis patients provided input to inform which projects should be recommended for funding.
The projects selected vary widely and include directing immunotherapy for the treatment ofrheumatoid arthritis (RA); studying the relationship between bacteria andosteoarthritis (OA)progression; and how lung disease may be related tolupus和COPA-related关节炎。
Learn more about our currently funded scientists and their projects.
Related Resources:
- Path to a Cure
- Researchers on the Path to a Cure – Spotlight on Dr. Martin Kriegel
- Researchers on the Path to a Cure – Spotlight on Dr. Tuhina Neogi
- Researchers on the Path to a Cure – Spotlight on Dr. Virginia Kraus