UAB is the lead institution in a multi-site, federally funded study of the genetic risk factors for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in patients with lupus. A nearly $3.35 million Grand Opportunity grant from the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), will create a national consortium to undertake what is known as a genome-wide association study. “The consortium has a substantial head start, building on established networks and clinical research infrastructure already in place,” said Robert Kimberly, M.D., director of UAB’s Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Autoimmunity Center (CAMAC) and principal investigator.

UAB will lead a multi-site study of the first large-scale genetic analysis of African-American rheumatoid arthritis patients to explore evidence that variants differ by race and ethnicity. “We also will be looking at genetic factors that affect damage of joints and osteoporosis in African-Americans with RA, as well as genetic factors that turn on or off expression of genes in blood cells from these subjects,” said S. Louis Bridges Jr., M.D., Ph.D., director of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology and principal investigator for the five-year $4.4 million grant from the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). “We believe this work will provide advances in clinical rheumatology, improve diagnostic strategies and develop targeted therapies for RA in African-Americans.”