Arthritis Foundation and CARRA Commit Over $1.6M to Pediatric Rheumatology Research
Clinical research ranges from the Down syndrome-arthritis link to mental health effects to socioeconomic impacts on health.
ATLANTA (July 15, 2024) — The Arthritis Foundation and Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) are pleased to announce the awardees of this year's CARRA-Arthritis Foundation research grants totaling more than $1.6 million. Since this partnership began in 2016, it has led to more than $8.1 million in funding to support research into pediatric rheumatic and related diseases.
Children living with arthritis and other rheumatic diseases struggle with pain, joint damage and disability — in addition to having many unanswered questions about their complex conditions. To meet the need for research and treatment options with fewer side effects and improved outcomes, the Arthritis Foundation partners with CARRA each year to fund a grant program that supports physician-led research in juvenile arthritis.
“The CARRA-Arthritis Foundation grants program is specifically designed to encourage research that addresses the unmet needs of individuals living with juvenile arthritis and rheumatic diseases and their caregivers,” said Steve Taylor, president and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation.
This year’s awards, totaling more than $1.6 million, will fund research in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), pediatric lupus, scleroderma, chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO) and other childhood rheumatic diseases. Grant recipients received one of seven award types: advancing biosample collection, large grant, small grant, bridge, fellow, health equity planning grant and mentored career development award.
Ten of this year’s 14 awardees are first-time recipients of a CARRA-Arthritis Foundation grant, illustrating how the program supports early investigators and fosters growth of the pediatric rheumatology field. A new grant this year — a bridge award — supports a researcher revising a grant proposal that has already been submitted and scored well by another institution but needed more work. In addition, the health equity grant was revised to a planning grant to address the problem of not having enough time to develop an impactful application.
The CARRA-Arthritis Foundation grants program has provided over 130 grants to 100 researchers at over 70 academic institutions since it was launched in 2016.
“Through our longstanding partnership with the Arthritis Foundation, we have been able to help advance research in many areas of pediatric rheumatology, while also supporting the careers of early investigators,” said Stacy Ardoin, MD, MS, president of CARRA, who is also Division Chief of Rheumatology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Families who have lived experience with rheumatic disease help review and evaluate grant applications each year to ensure that proposed research is aligned with patients’ needs and priorities, Dr. Ardoin added.
Arthritis affects both adults and children across race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class and gender. JIA, the most common form of arthritis in children, affects as many as 16 to 50 children per 100,000 in the United States. Although the management of JIA and other pediatric rheumatic conditions has improved over the years, there are still many gaps in the treatment of these diseases, as well as the understanding of their pathologies, progression and impacts.
Some of the grants will fund the following research:
JIA is an autoimmune disease that arises from both genetic and environmental factors. For example, children with Down syndrome are at increased risk of juvenile arthritis, but the connection isn’t clear. With the advancing biosample collection award, Susan Canny, MD, PhD, acting assistant professor at the University of Washington, and her team will collect blood samples from people with Down syndrome-associated arthritis and study the roles and functions of white blood cells in these patients.
People with rheumatic diseases have significant differences in care and outcomes based on non-medical factors, such as economic status, access to care and community support systems. Using her hospital's electronic medical record system, Jackeline Rodriguez-Smith, MD, assistant professor from Children's Hospital Medical Center, will use her health equity planning grant to investigate the impact of such social determinants of health on health care utilization and disease outcomes in children with JIA and lupus.
Mentored career development award recipient William Soulsby, MD, a pediatric rheumatologist from the University of California, San Francisco, will also study the relationships between social determinants of health and arthritis outcomes in children. This award supports an early career investigator with a commitment to developing an independent research career in pediatric rheumatology.
To further encourage early-career pediatric rheumatologists interested in research, the Arthritis Foundation and CARRA have given a fellowship award to pediatric rheumatologist Tatiana Borja, MD, from the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, to study how inflammation develops in the kidneys of children with lupus nephritis.
“Through our partnership, we will continue to invest in the future of our research workforce so that pediatric rheumatic diseases remain a priority,” said Kristen Mueller, PhD, vice president of autoimmune arthritis research at the Arthritis Foundation.
Managing mental health is an important aspect of living with rheumatic disease. With a small grant award, pediatric rheumatologist Alexandra Theisen, MD, from Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, and her group will compare the quality of life and mental health of children with lupus who also have skin conditions and assess the impact of socioeconomic factors on disease activity and outcomes.
“We are grateful for this collaboration with the Arthritis Foundation and the opportunity to align our research agendas. By working together, we can advance pediatric rheumatology research faster to help improve the lives of children who have these complex conditions,” said Mathieu Nelessen, CEO of CARRA.
2024 CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Research Grant Awardees
1. Sheila Angeles-Han, MD, Children's Hospital Medical Center
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Advancing Biosample Collection Award
Predicting Eye Disease in Childhood Arthritis – Uveitis Study
2. Tatiana Borja, MD, The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Fellow Grant
The immune cell landscape in renal biopsies of children with lupus nephritis
3. Susan Canny, MD, PhD, University of Washington
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Advancing Biosample Collection Award
Investigating Monocyte Responses in Down Syndrome-Associated Arthritis
4. Eveline Wu, MD, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Advancing Biosample Collection Award
Trial of Sequential Medications After TNF Failure (SMART) and Precision Treatment Decisions in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
5. Anna Costello, MD, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Mentored Career Development Award
Defining and Characterizing Diagnostic Delay in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
6. Onengiya Harry, MD, MPH, MSc, Wake Forest University Health Sciences
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Large Grant
Two-Year Trajectories of Health-Related Quality of Life Among Adolescents Newly Diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
7. Ingrid Ganske, MD, Boston Children's Hospital
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Small Grant
Development and Validation the Craniofacial Scleroderma Photo Atlas
8. Andrea Knight, MD, The Hospital for Sick Children
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Small Grant
Examining Structural Brain MRI Metrics in Children with Craniofacial Linear Scleroderma
9. Jacqueline Madison, MD, The Regents of the University of Michigan
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Small Grant
Pediatric APS: Exploring approaches to classification, diagnosis, and management
10. Alexandra Theisen, MD, Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation CARRA Small Grant
The Impact of Skin Disease on Self-Reported Quality of Life and Psychosocial Health in Youth with Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus
11. Jackeline Rodriguez-Smith, MD, Children's Hospital Medical Center
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Health Equity Design (Planning) Grant
Toward Addressing Sources of Health Inequity in Pediatric Rheumatic Diseases
12. Daniella Michelle Schocken, MD, Children's Hospital Medical Center
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Mentored Career Development Award
Longitudinal Measurements of Resilience and Pain in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
13. William Soulsby, MD, The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Mentored Career Development Award
Application of the Socioecological Model to Elucidate Health Disparities in JIA
14. Yongdong Zhao, MD, PhD, Seattle Children's Hospital
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Bridge Grant
Comparative effectiveness study of current treatments in children with Chronic Nonbacterial Osteomyelitis (CNO)
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About the Arthritis Foundation:
The Arthritis Foundation is fighting for all people who live with arthritis. As a Champion of Yes, it’s the Arthritis Foundation’s mission to turn the obstacles arthritis causes into opportunities. The Arthritis Foundation champions life-changing solutions and medical advancements, and it also provides ways for people to connect, break down barriers in health care and join the fight for a cure — uniting hearts, minds and resources to change the future of arthritis. To join the fight to cure arthritis, visit arthritis.org.
About Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA):
CARRA is a collaborative research network formed in 2002 by a small group of pediatric rheumatologists that has since grown to include over 700 physician members and many research professionals and families. CARRA’s mission is to conduct collaborative research to prevent, treat, and cure pediatric rheumatic diseases. CARRA is a 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization. To learn more, please visit carragroup.org.
Children living with arthritis and other rheumatic diseases struggle with pain, joint damage and disability — in addition to having many unanswered questions about their complex conditions. To meet the need for research and treatment options with fewer side effects and improved outcomes, the Arthritis Foundation partners with CARRA each year to fund a grant program that supports physician-led research in juvenile arthritis.
“The CARRA-Arthritis Foundation grants program is specifically designed to encourage research that addresses the unmet needs of individuals living with juvenile arthritis and rheumatic diseases and their caregivers,” said Steve Taylor, president and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation.
This year’s awards, totaling more than $1.6 million, will fund research in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), pediatric lupus, scleroderma, chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO) and other childhood rheumatic diseases. Grant recipients received one of seven award types: advancing biosample collection, large grant, small grant, bridge, fellow, health equity planning grant and mentored career development award.Ten of this year’s 14 awardees are first-time recipients of a CARRA-Arthritis Foundation grant, illustrating how the program supports early investigators and fosters growth of the pediatric rheumatology field. A new grant this year — a bridge award — supports a researcher revising a grant proposal that has already been submitted and scored well by another institution but needed more work. In addition, the health equity grant was revised to a planning grant to address the problem of not having enough time to develop an impactful application.
The CARRA-Arthritis Foundation grants program has provided over 130 grants to 100 researchers at over 70 academic institutions since it was launched in 2016.
“Through our longstanding partnership with the Arthritis Foundation, we have been able to help advance research in many areas of pediatric rheumatology, while also supporting the careers of early investigators,” said Stacy Ardoin, MD, MS, president of CARRA, who is also Division Chief of Rheumatology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Families who have lived experience with rheumatic disease help review and evaluate grant applications each year to ensure that proposed research is aligned with patients’ needs and priorities, Dr. Ardoin added.
Arthritis affects both adults and children across race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class and gender. JIA, the most common form of arthritis in children, affects as many as 16 to 50 children per 100,000 in the United States. Although the management of JIA and other pediatric rheumatic conditions has improved over the years, there are still many gaps in the treatment of these diseases, as well as the understanding of their pathologies, progression and impacts.
Some of the grants will fund the following research:
JIA is an autoimmune disease that arises from both genetic and environmental factors. For example, children with Down syndrome are at increased risk of juvenile arthritis, but the connection isn’t clear. With the advancing biosample collection award, Susan Canny, MD, PhD, acting assistant professor at the University of Washington, and her team will collect blood samples from people with Down syndrome-associated arthritis and study the roles and functions of white blood cells in these patients.
People with rheumatic diseases have significant differences in care and outcomes based on non-medical factors, such as economic status, access to care and community support systems. Using her hospital's electronic medical record system, Jackeline Rodriguez-Smith, MD, assistant professor from Children's Hospital Medical Center, will use her health equity planning grant to investigate the impact of such social determinants of health on health care utilization and disease outcomes in children with JIA and lupus.
Mentored career development award recipient William Soulsby, MD, a pediatric rheumatologist from the University of California, San Francisco, will also study the relationships between social determinants of health and arthritis outcomes in children. This award supports an early career investigator with a commitment to developing an independent research career in pediatric rheumatology.
To further encourage early-career pediatric rheumatologists interested in research, the Arthritis Foundation and CARRA have given a fellowship award to pediatric rheumatologist Tatiana Borja, MD, from the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, to study how inflammation develops in the kidneys of children with lupus nephritis.
“Through our partnership, we will continue to invest in the future of our research workforce so that pediatric rheumatic diseases remain a priority,” said Kristen Mueller, PhD, vice president of autoimmune arthritis research at the Arthritis Foundation.
Managing mental health is an important aspect of living with rheumatic disease. With a small grant award, pediatric rheumatologist Alexandra Theisen, MD, from Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, and her group will compare the quality of life and mental health of children with lupus who also have skin conditions and assess the impact of socioeconomic factors on disease activity and outcomes.
“We are grateful for this collaboration with the Arthritis Foundation and the opportunity to align our research agendas. By working together, we can advance pediatric rheumatology research faster to help improve the lives of children who have these complex conditions,” said Mathieu Nelessen, CEO of CARRA.
2024 CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Research Grant Awardees
1. Sheila Angeles-Han, MD, Children's Hospital Medical Center
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Advancing Biosample Collection Award
Predicting Eye Disease in Childhood Arthritis – Uveitis Study
2. Tatiana Borja, MD, The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Fellow Grant
The immune cell landscape in renal biopsies of children with lupus nephritis
3. Susan Canny, MD, PhD, University of Washington
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Advancing Biosample Collection Award
Investigating Monocyte Responses in Down Syndrome-Associated Arthritis
4. Eveline Wu, MD, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Advancing Biosample Collection Award
Trial of Sequential Medications After TNF Failure (SMART) and Precision Treatment Decisions in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
5. Anna Costello, MD, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Mentored Career Development Award
Defining and Characterizing Diagnostic Delay in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
6. Onengiya Harry, MD, MPH, MSc, Wake Forest University Health Sciences
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Large Grant
Two-Year Trajectories of Health-Related Quality of Life Among Adolescents Newly Diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
7. Ingrid Ganske, MD, Boston Children's Hospital
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Small Grant
Development and Validation the Craniofacial Scleroderma Photo Atlas
8. Andrea Knight, MD, The Hospital for Sick Children
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Small Grant
Examining Structural Brain MRI Metrics in Children with Craniofacial Linear Scleroderma
9. Jacqueline Madison, MD, The Regents of the University of Michigan
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Small Grant
Pediatric APS: Exploring approaches to classification, diagnosis, and management
10. Alexandra Theisen, MD, Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation CARRA Small Grant
The Impact of Skin Disease on Self-Reported Quality of Life and Psychosocial Health in Youth with Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus
11. Jackeline Rodriguez-Smith, MD, Children's Hospital Medical Center
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Health Equity Design (Planning) Grant
Toward Addressing Sources of Health Inequity in Pediatric Rheumatic Diseases
12. Daniella Michelle Schocken, MD, Children's Hospital Medical Center
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Mentored Career Development Award
Longitudinal Measurements of Resilience and Pain in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
13. William Soulsby, MD, The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Mentored Career Development Award
Application of the Socioecological Model to Elucidate Health Disparities in JIA
14. Yongdong Zhao, MD, PhD, Seattle Children's Hospital
CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Bridge Grant
Comparative effectiveness study of current treatments in children with Chronic Nonbacterial Osteomyelitis (CNO)
About the Arthritis Foundation:
The Arthritis Foundation is fighting for all people who live with arthritis. As a Champion of Yes, it’s the Arthritis Foundation’s mission to turn the obstacles arthritis causes into opportunities. The Arthritis Foundation champions life-changing solutions and medical advancements, and it also provides ways for people to connect, break down barriers in health care and join the fight for a cure — uniting hearts, minds and resources to change the future of arthritis. To join the fight to cure arthritis, visit arthritis.org.
About Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA):
CARRA is a collaborative research network formed in 2002 by a small group of pediatric rheumatologists that has since grown to include over 700 physician members and many research professionals and families. CARRA’s mission is to conduct collaborative research to prevent, treat, and cure pediatric rheumatic diseases. CARRA is a 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization. To learn more, please visit carragroup.org.
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