Lupus Therapeutics, the scientific affiliate of the Lupus Analysis Alliance (LRA), as we speak introduced a pioneering funding mechanism to deal with one of the frequent questions on lupus scientific care and administration. The IDEAL (Investigate Dietary Approaches for Lupus) Initiative was established to fund pilot scientific research assessing the impression of weight loss plan intervention on the lived expertise of lupus and to deal with the void of well-controlled research on this space. The initiative goals to reinforce lupus care by figuring out a easy, sensible and accessible dietary method that advantages individuals with lupus.
The impression of weight loss plan and the microbiome on lupus improvement and development has been an space of immense curiosity for researchers and people residing with lupus. Whereas there have been some optimistic and productive assessments of weight loss plan and microbiome in different therapeutic areas, research in lupus have been largely preliminary and preclinical. Over 10 years in the past, the LRA funded the primary research on the position of the microbiome in lupus and has continued to help analysis on this space and led key boards to spearhead subsequent steps for bringing analysis to these residing with lupus. There stay many unanswered questions relating to the mechanistic facets of lupus, together with the connection of the illness to the microbiome and environmental elements, however the IDEAL Initiative has the potential to supply some perception for these facets.
The IDEAL Initiative was created to reply questions amongst researchers, clinicians, and people residing with lupus desperate to unlock new insights on how weight loss plan and the microbiome impression lupus administration and illness course. With the experience within the lupus neighborhood and the rising data in regards to the mechanistic side of lupus, Lupus Therapeutics is optimistic {that a} strong, multi-disciplinary analysis method will render strong outcomes that could possibly be extrapolated into a bigger analysis of interventions and care methods which have the potential to reinforce affected person outcomes and high quality of life.”
Stacie Bell, Government Vice President of Lupus Therapeutics
Fashioned after convening and gathering suggestions from an knowledgeable steering committee, the IDEAL Initiative will fund a pilot proof-of-concept scientific examine to guage the impression of weight loss plan on lupus. Proposals should embrace a multi-disciplinary (doubtlessly multi-institutional) staff method, with at the very least two disciplines within the proposed undertaking. The specified result’s a scientific consequence or scientific mechanism somewhat than dietary steering, though the examine might inform the event of dietary steering.
“The IDEAL Initiative is a direct response to the analysis neighborhood’s name for scientific research in an rising space of unmet want,” stated Teodora Staeva, PhD, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Lupus Analysis Alliance. “The LRA continues to champion revolutionary funding mechanisms that may deal with urgent wants in lupus analysis. This initiative is one in all a number of new LRA funding alternatives that would lead in the direction of new care approaches for individuals with lupus.”
The IDEAL initiative will present as much as $500,000 over two years to fund a scientifically primarily based, well-controlled small scientific pilot examine. The intent is to fund as much as two awards at $500,000 every. All research ought to have a transparent and direct relevance to individuals with lupus and will provide the potential to enhance commonplace of care and the each day lived expertise. Precedence might be given to initiatives that additionally align with LRA strategic analysis priorities of defining human lupus heterogeneity by molecular pathology to stratify sufferers by lively illness mechanisms and integrating the analysis continuum to deliver advances to sufferers. It’s essential for the IDEAL-funded undertaking to maintain sufferers on the heart and useful to incorporate sufferers as analysis companions.
A two-stage utility course of might be employed.
- January 8, 2025, 11:59 pm ET– Letter of Intent (LOI) due: A 3-page LOI might be used to guage the innovation, significance, and alignment of the proposed undertaking with the IDEAL funding mechanism.
- March 28, 2025, 11:59 pm ET – Full Utility Due: Candidates whose LOIs efficiently go this primary assessment stage might be invited to submit a full utility within the second stage of the appliance course of with additional directions supplied at the moment.
