Rheumatology Research Foundation Reaches 30-Year Milestone

At the culmination of this first successful fundraising effort, the Foundation continued this forward push with the launch of its second campaign, Journey to Cure: The Campaign to Advance Patient Care and Accelerate Discoveries, with a goal of raising $60 million. Now in the final stages, Journey to Cure is less than $5 million from reaching its goal.

Moving Forward

However, the Foundation’s work is still far from complete. According to the Foundation’s latest report on funding for rheumatology research, Analysis of Funding for Rheumatology Research and Training for the Period 2010–2014, NIH funding awarded to rheumatology researchers fell from more than $1.1 billion in 2010 to less than $700 million in 2014, amounting to a 40% drop in federal funding. Private organizations, such as the Foundation, have been able to help fill the gap during this period by infusing more than $93 million into arthritis and rheumatic disease research. However, that amount, although impressive, accounts for less than 30% of the lost funding.

The Foundation has grown in its reputation as a leader in the support of rheumatology. In addition to its recent analysis of research funding, the Foundation convened a meeting of stakeholders in rheumatology research to discuss the challenges in front of them and to identify potential solutions and opportunities for collaboration. This meeting, the first-ever Partners in Rheumatology: Leadership Summit, was hosted by the Foundation in conjunction with its annual Investigators’ Meeting in June. We believe this summit was a resounding success and has already resulted in the implementation of some of the attendees’ recommendations. Planning for a second summit next year is underway.

In the meantime, the Foundation will continue expanding its efforts to fund research with the ultimate goal of finding a cure for rheumatic diseases. Your support of the Foundation will become even more crucial in the future as the organization grows to address the funding needs of rheumatology and works to ensure that people with rheumatic disease have access to the best possible care.

Visit Rheum Research to learn more about research and training supported by the Rheumatology Research Foundation.

E. William St.Clair, MD, is president of the ACR and chief of the Duke Division of Rheumatology and Immunology. Contact him at [email protected].

David R. Karp, MD, PhD, is president of the Rheumatology Research Foundation and chief of the Rheumatic Diseases Division at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.