Apply For Funding

The goal of this program is to foster an interest among students in the areas of basic, clinical, translational, epidemiological, or behavioral research relevant to lupus. Students must work under the sponsorship and supervision of an established, tenure-track principal investigator who directs a laboratory dedicated at least in part to the investigation of lupus at an academic, medical, or research institution.

• Six fellowship awards of $4,000
• All applicants must submit their full application packages through the ProposalCentral online grants management system. Visit ProposalCentral to create an account and complete the application.
• Hard copies of applications will not be accepted
• Earliest award notification date is April 21, 2025.
• Application deadline is February 27, 2025.

For full eligibility and application requirements, see the 2025 RFA.

The Lupus Foundation of America’s Gary S. Gilkeson Career Development Award facilitates the professional development of current fellows (any year), clinicians up to two years post-fellowship and/or within four years of Postdoctoral research in nephrology, rheumatology, or dermatology, in the U.S. or Canada. Their work should focus on the investigation of basic, clinical, translational, behavioral, or epidemiological lupus research.

• Three grant awards of up to $70,000 each year for up to two years.
• Funding may be renewed for a second year depending on progress from year one.
• All applicants must submit their full application packages through the ProposalCentral online grants management system. Visit ProposalCentral to create an account and complete the application.
• Hard copies of applications will not be accepted.
• Earliest award notification date is April 21, 2025.
• Application deadline is February 27, 2025.

For full eligibility and application requirements, see the 2025 RFA.

Lupus Foundation of America has partnered with Lupus Canada for the Catalyst Grant. The Catalyst Grant is intended to help kick-start a new project or research idea focused on discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).  This grant provides support to Canadian investigators to initiate new research ideas and projects and is intended to complement rather than compete with traditional sources of funding such as the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR).  

• One Catalyst grant for a total of $40,000 CDN to fund one project for a term of one year
• All applicants and co-applicants must hold an academic appointment at a Canadian university, teaching hospital or similarly accredited institution (i.e., an institution eligible to hold tri-council funding)
• Candidates in postdoctoral training are eligible to apply, but must have a Co-Principal applicant with an academic appointment in order to receive funds at their institution
• All applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Collaborators may be from outside of Canada, however no funds from Lupus Canada may be transferred outside of the country
• All applicants must submit their full application packages through the ProposalCentral online grants management system. Visit ProposalCentral to create an account and complete the application.
• Hard copies will not be accepted
• Principal Investigators are permitted to submit up to a maximum of 1 application per competition
• A Principal Investigator may be awarded a Lupus Canada funded Catalyst Grant only once during the last two competitions, but may participate in applications as collaborators and co-applicants
• Earliest award notification date is April 21, 2025.
• Application deadline is February 27, 2025.

For full eligibility and application requirements, see the 2025 RFA.

There are funds available to award two projects for a term of one year at up to $45,000.00 USD each.

• Applicants and co-applicants must:
  • Hold an MD or PhD (or equivalent) from an accredited institution in the US or Canada
  • Be a citizen or legal resident of the US or Canada at the time of application. Collaborators may be from other countries, however no funds from the Lupus Foundation of America may be transferred outside of the US or Canada
  • Hold an academic appointment at a US or Canadian university, teaching hospital, or similarly accredited institution (i.e., institution eligible for NIH funding or tri-council funding)
• Principal investigators are permitted to submit up to a maximum of one application per competition
• All applicants must submit their full application packages through the ProposalCentral online grants management system. Visit ProposalCentral to create an account and complete the application.
• Hard copies will not be accepted.
• Earliest award notification date is April 21, 2025.
• Application deadline is February 27, 2025.

For full eligibility and application requirements, see the 2025 RFA.

The Lupus Foundation of America established in 2005 the Evelyn V. Hess, MD, MACP, MACR, Award to be given annually to a clinical or basic researcher whose body of work has significantly advanced understanding of the pathophysiology, etiology, epidemiology, diagnosis or treatment of lupus. This award was created to honor Dr. Hess' outstanding contributions to lupus research over the course of her long career.

Learn more about the current award recipient here. The nomination period for this award will re-open in summer 2025. 

The Lupus Foundation of America established in 2009 the Mary Betty Stevens, MD, Young Investigator Prize to be given annually in recognition of the exceptional achievements of an investigator in the early part of his or her independent career in lupus research. This award was created to memorialize Dr. Stevens who made exceptional contributions to lupus research starting from early on in her career.

Learn more about the current award recipient here. The nomination period for this award will re-open in summer 2025. 

Cynthia Aranow, MD, Chair
Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY

Christie Bartels, MD, MS
University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine, Madison, WI

Ashira Blazer, MD
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Andrea Fava, MD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Candace Feldman, MD, MPH, ScD
Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Diane Kamen, MD, MSCR
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Mimi Kim, MS, ScD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY

Andrea Knight, MD, MSCE
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON

Joan Merrill, MD
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK

Timothy Niewold, MD, FACR
The Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY

Brad Rovin, MD
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH

Tamar Rubinstein, MD, MS
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY

Laura Schanberg, MD
Duke University Medical Center, Raleigh, NC

Betty Tsao, PhD
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Victoria Werth, MD
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Jessica Williams, MD, MPH
Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA

Anca Askanase, MD, Chair
Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY

Christie Bartels, MD, MS
University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine, Madison, WI

Kevin Deane, MD
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO

Diane Kamen, MD, MSCR
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 

Timothy Niewold, MD, FACR
The Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY

Nancy Olsen, MD
Hershey Medical Center - Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA

Zahi Touma, MD, PhD
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON

Jinoos Yazdany, MD, MPH
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA