Lupus Foundation of America Summer Student Fellowship Program Supports the Future of Lupus Research with Five Grants to Young Scientists

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lupus Foundation of America is proud to announce the five recipients of the annual Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program (Finzi). The highly competitive fellowship program offers intensive, 10-week, paid, faculty-mentored research placements for undergraduate, graduate and medical students. This program supports the expansion of the pipeline of lupus researchers for students conducting lupus-focused research under the guidance of experienced mentors at academic institutions in the United States, Canada or Mexico.

This year's Finzi's will spend their summer investigating important areas of lupus research including:

• Microbiome changes in the gut and their impact on lupus - assessing which microbiome changes are observed in lupus and how correcting these changes may alleviate lupus severity.
• The brain and childhood lupus - using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), a specialized type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to better understand how brain changes relate to lupus disease duration, activity, medication use and overall disease impact in children with lupus.
• Impact of skin involvement of childhood lupus - analyzing the burden of skin disease in children with lupus and how skin manifestations change over time, how they relate to disease activity and treatment patterns, and how they make patients feel about their overall health.
• The role of immune cells in lupus - studying if viral infections that trigger immune cells play a role in the development of lupus in children.
• DNA:RNA hybrids in lupus - evaluating the prominence and affinity of autoantibodies to DNA:RNA hybrids (DNA bound to RNA) in people living with lupus which may trigger a more robust immune response than DNA alone. This work may help identify better diagnostic, prognostic and interventions for lupus

"Early support, both funding and mentorship, for students launching their research careers is critical to fueling future lupus research breakthroughs. This is precisely why the Lupus Foundation of America's Gina M. Finzi Student Summer Fellowship program is so important," shared Joy Buie, Ph.D, MSCR, RN, Vice President of Research at Lupus Foundation of America. "Under the guidance of their mentors, the Finzi Fellows gain experience, support and the tools they need to make new discoveries in their lupus research and lead successful future careers in the field."

Launched in 1984, the Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program has supported over 200 young scientists fueling the pipeline of lupus research. It was established in memory of Gina M. Finzi, daughter of former Lupus Foundation of America President Sergio Finzi, PhD. Throughout the fellowship, Finzi recipients work closely with seasoned clinical investigators and biomedical scientists, a vital part of the program providing essential guidance, support and fostering their development as emerging scientists in lupus research.

The research conducted by Finzi Fellows will contribute to a variety of crucial areas within the lupus field: 

Alaina Dhawan
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
Project Title: Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping of Brain Tissue in cSLE
Mentor: Andrea Knight, MD, MSCE, Clinical Associate Professor, Rheumatology, The Hospital for Sick Children

Delaney Ding
University of Florida
Project Title: Cutaneous Disease Burden and Trajectories in Childhood-Onset Lupus
Mentor: Renee Modica, MD, MSED, Clinical Associate Professor, Rheumatology, University of Florida

"Mansoor" Mohammad Mansoor
University of Colorado Anschutz
Project Title: Characterizing Polyreactive B-T Cell Dysregulation in Pediatric Lupus
Mentor: Elena Wen-Yuan Hsieh, MD, Associate Professor, Division Chief, Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics & Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern
Mia Smith, DVM, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, University of Colorado Anschutz

Gillian McClennen
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Project Title: Loss and Restoration of Functional Microbial Pathways in Lupus
Mentor: Daniel Fernando Zegarra Ruiz, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia School of Medicine

Yuri Singh
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Project Title: The Role of Autoantibodies Against DNA: RNA Hybrids in SLE Pathogenesis
Mentor: Eduardo Gomez-Banuelos, MD, MS, PhD, Assistant Professor, Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

"The Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship program is an essential mechanism in growing the lupus research field," shared Elena Wen-Yuan Hsieh, MD, Division Chief of Allergy and Immunology in Pediatrics and Internal Medicine at University of Texas Southwestern (Dallas, TX) and 2026 Finzi grantee mentor. "Investing in early scientists brings new ideas, energy, and technical approaches to complex questions in lupus; it expands the pipeline of investigators and brings foundational insights that seed future studies that could lead to new discoveries and innovation."

Learn more about the 2026 Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship recipients here.

About the Lupus Foundation of America
The Lupus Foundation of America is the premier patient advocacy organization devoted to solving the mystery of lupus, a devastating autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks organs throughout the body, while giving caring support to those who suffer from its brutal impact. Through a comprehensive program of research, education, and advocacy, we lead the fight to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus. Learn more about the Lupus Foundation of America at lupus.org.

About Lupus
Lupus is an unpredictable and complex autoimmune disease that can affect multiple parts of the body. It is difficult to diagnose, challenging to treat, and often misunderstood. Lupus can cause symptoms ranging from skin rashes to organ damage and can be life-threatening. Despite its devastating impact, research on lupus remains underfunded relative to the disease's scope.

Media Contact:
Shannon Brown
[email protected]

SOURCE Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.