Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Washington received a $412,569 Project Grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) under the Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.846), awarded May 1, 2026, with completion scheduled for April 30, 2028. This research project will develop and validate biomarker assays to measure inflammatory modes of programmed cell death—specifically pyroptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis—in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. The research addresses a critical gap in understanding SLE pathogenesis by establishing both targeted and unbiased approaches to detect these inflammatory cell death pathways in patient blood samples, using techniques including microscopy, ELISA, and mass spectrometry analysis of neutrophils and monocytes.

The project will deliver quantifiable biomarker tools and clinical correlations linking ferroptosis markers to disease activity and clinical phenotypes in SLE patients. Preliminary data indicate ferroptosis is significantly elevated in neutrophils from SLE patients, and the research will assess ferroptosis using fluorescent markers for lipid peroxides and iron accumulation while evaluating associations between soluble biomarkers and clinical disease activity measures. These research outputs will contribute to the broader NIAMS portfolio supporting investigation into disease mechanisms and development of novel diagnostic approaches for connective tissue diseases.