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FALL 2007 NEWSLETTER
LOOP
THE
Leading the Fight
Against Lupus
2007 Gala
Scientific Leadership Award
The S.L.E. Lupus Foundation Gala 2007
To honor Carol and Michael Weisman
At Gala 2007, the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation is
proud to recognize the catalytic passion of a
remarkable couple—a team in life and work—
whose contributions to lupus have connected
generations, personalities, and East Coast to
West Coast.
This year’s Gala will take place at the New York
Marriott Marquis on the evening of Monday,
December 3rd.
Benjamin Schwartz, MD, PhD
Corporate Leadership Award
Special Performance
Tony Award Winner
Patti LuPone
Mistress of Ceremonies
TRAVEL TEAM SUCCESS
“I’m the only one
in my family with
lupus,” explains the
dynamic Carol
Weisman, 56, a
New York native.
“I was 19 years old
when a dermatologist diagnosed the
blisters on my nose
and cheek as discoid (skin) lupus.”
But it was 22 years
later that Los
Carol and Michael Weisman
Angeles physician
Daniel J. Wallace, MD, whose casual “How are
you?” at a charity event spurred the renowned
rheumatologist to insist on a Monday morning
office visit for Carol, at which the more serious
systemic lupus was diagnosed.
That was after years of what Carol describes as
“so many obvious systemic lupus flare-ups”—
Hoda Kotb
NBC
Join Us!
MONDAY, DECEMBER 3RD
AT NEW YORK MARRIOTT
MARQUIS IN TIMES SQUARE
fatigue, fevers, and other symptoms that plagued
her through the early years with husband
Michael, whom she met on a blind date in 1977,
and much of her time as a young mother in
New York and Los Angeles.
“Why didn’t they catch it for all those years?”
she wonders, still somewhat incredulous.
“I don’t know! I had top doctors…my hope is
that the next person won’t have to suffer and
wait so long.”
With grandparents to help care for their two
children—Brett, born in 1980, and Jed, in
1985—Carol traveled the globe with Michael as
he built his television career producing and
executive producing coverage of major sports
events, such as the World Series, the Super
Bowl, and the Olympics for NBC.
“I was always by his side. We’re best friends—a
team,” says Carol. A natural at solidifying social
and professional relationships through her force
of personality, Carol played an integral role in
supporting Michael’s stellar career. Considered
one of the most talented sports executives and
producers for more than three decades, Michael
has been awarded a remarkable 22 national
Emmy Awards.
Together they faced not only Carol’s risk for
lupus complications, but also her fight with thyroid cancer and the loss of Adam, their second
child, at six weeks of age. When the diagnosis of
systemic lupus was made, the two turned
continued on page 3
New York Goes Orange for Pumpkin Festival
and Lupus Awareness Month With Help from
Famed NFL Pro-Bowler Jerome “The Bus” Bettis
On Saturday, October 27th, thousands of New York City families got
“into the loop” with the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation at the first-ever
Pumpkin Festival in Central Park, presented by Camp Sunshine and the
City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation.
continued on page 4
2 • SPRING 2007 S.L.E. LUPUS FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER
Gratitude
It was already dark outside our office
windows in late October when I read the
letter—it had come in just hours after we
sent out a morning email asking all of
you to take part in our letter-writing
campaign to Congressman Bill Young
of Florida.
A great champion of the lupus cause,
Rep. Young played a key role in bringing
to fruition a strategic plan to guide
federal investment in lupus over the
next five years. We were asking for letters
to let him now how grateful we all are
(see story, page 6).
“It is hard to express the depth of
gratitude we feel for your help,” I read in
the letter to the congressman. Lupus had
devastated this family. The couple’s son
was just entering adolescence when he
was diagnosed with lupus nephritis—the
same complication that ended the life of
his aunt in the late 1970s, at age 31.
Lupus had surfaced, but unlike the
family’s struggle with the illness in the
1970s, there was now hope that the fight
might be won. That research progress
was underway.
I was struck by the realization that this
family, living in the midst of fear and
unknowns, is profoundly grateful to have
hope. Our Gala honorees, Carol and
Michael Weisman, convey the same sense
of gratitude for what’s happening in lupus
awareness and research. So does our
always-accessible and wise scientific
honoree, Dr. Benjamin Schwartz.
The Foundation is proud to be
able to provide so much that is
tangible—solid research outcomes, counseling, assistance,
connections—as well as a
welcoming door for all who wish
to participate, propel change,
and express gratitude.
Margaret G. Dowd
Executive Director,
S.L.E. Lupus Foundation
S.L.E. Lupus Foundation Annual
Scientific Conference 2007
New Investigators and Mentors in Lupus Come Together to
Update Work, Build Collaborations
New York-area investigators
funded by the Foundation
set aside their laboratory
work for a day in June to
join their mentors and
Medical Advisory Board
members to present their
research progress at a
day-long conference at the
Yale Club in midtown.
Since its inception, the
Foundation has led the
nation in seeking the most
brilliant new scientist
interested in pursuing
careers in lupus research,
and to fund their training
with top mentors in the
New York regional area.
“Lupus research will not
progress unless we continue
to fill the pipeline with the
brightest and best-trained
new scientists, building the
body of knowledge and talent
demanded to tackle the
mysteries of lupus and
autoimmunity,” explained
Foundation Executive Director,
Margaret G. Dowd. “Many of
the most accomplished
senior scientists in the field
began their careers as S.L.E.
Fellows, and run some of the
top labs in the country.”
The Foundation’s New
Investigator Research
awards, designed for junior
level faculty professors,
support scientists for three
years as they search for
answers to lupus.
Fellowships for post-doctoral research, also three years
in length, match new talent
with established mentors.
Career Development
Awards enable fellows to
pursue lupus research as
independent investigators.
TEN PRESENTATIONS
Ramalingam Bethunaickan,
PhD, Feinstein Institute for
Medical Research
Qinzhong Chen, PhD,
Columbia University
Joel Cohen-Solal, PhD,
Feinstein Institute for Medical
Research
Giovanni Franchin, MD, PhD,
Feinstein Institute for Medical
Research
Carolina Llanos, MD, PhD
Ann M. Haberman, PhD,
Yale University
Peter Izmirly, MD, NYUHospital for Joint Diseases
Philip Kahn, MD,
Columbia University
Sun Jung Kim, PhD, Feinstein
Institute for Medical Research
Carolina Llanos, MD, PhD,
NYU-Hospital for Joint
Diseases
Sun Jung Kim, PhD
Mikhail Olferiev, MD,
Cornell University/Hospital
for Special Surgery
Peter Izmirly, MD
Venkatesh Jeganathan, PhD,
Ramalingam Bethunaickan,
PhD, Ann M. Haberman, PhD
Chairman of the
Foundation’s Medical
Advisory Board, Bruce
Cronstein, MD
Medical Advisory Board
members Jill Buyon, MD
and Anne Davidson, MD
SPRING 2007 S.L.E. LUPUS FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER • 3
Lupus Foundation 2007 Gala continued from page 1
incredulity into a cause—together.
Today the Foundation honors Carol and
Michael for having accomplished this and
more, enlisting powerful allies in the fight
against lupus from the social and entertainment worlds that they so successfully
inhabit.
“They have made the world a better
place,” Carol said of her parents.
“I think—and hope—that Michael and
I have picked up where they left off.”
Connecting Generations, Personalities,
and East to West
While living in Los Angeles, Carol
galvanized support for the Foundation’s
fledgling West Coast Division, Lupus LA,
helping it to become the force in patient
awareness and Hollywood involvement
that it is today.
The Foundation’s link to the Weismans
began years ago with Carol’s parents, Jean
and Meyer (Mike) Steinberg. A successful
entrepreneur and self-made businessman,
Mike said he only grasped the true dangers of his daughter’s diagnosis upon
watching one of the Gala videos. “Jean
and I decided right at that moment that
getting involved was more important than
anything else we could be doing,” he said.
Because of their longtime commitment to
the cause, Jean and Mike were named as
Gala honorees in 2002.
“They have made the world a better
place,” Carol said of her parents at the
time. “I think—and hope—that Michael
and I have picked up where they left off.”
2007 Scientific Leadership Award
Also to be honored at this year’s Gala is
Benjamin Schwartz, MD, PhD, a
rheumatologist whose sage and steady
guidance has enabled the Foundation’s
research partner, the Lupus Research
Institute, to pioneer a powerful model for
discovery in lupus.
The LRI Scientific Advisory Board
member is a professor of clinical medicine at Washington University School of
Medicine in St. Louis. He began his
medical training in the Bronx, earning
both his PhD in immunology and his
MD degree at the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine.
Experienced in laboratory research,
versed in clinical care, and knowledgeable
about the drug approval process, Dr.
Schwartz’s unique perspective and generous input has helped to shape and steer
the Institute to its singular position as a
groundbreaker in lupus investigation. We
are deeply grateful for his commitment
to this cause.
2007 Corporate Leadership Award
The Foundation honors Aspreva
Pharmaceuticals for its vigorous work
in developing evidence-based treatments
for people with less-common and longneglected diseases such as lupus nephritis. By initiating one of the largest phase
III studies ever for lupus nephritis with
CellCept[R], the global pharmaceutical
company has helped to spark a significant
increase in worldwide examination of
lupus treatment options.
Special Performance by Patti LuPone
Fresh from her starring turn in this
summer’s new production of the musical,
Gypsy, at New York’s City Center, the
critically acclaimed actress will provide
entertainment for Gala 2007. Miss
LuPone has enjoyed a nearly four
decades-long career in theater, television,
and film.
Mistress of Ceremonies: Hoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb was named co-anchor of the
fourth hour of “Today” in August 2007.
She has also been a “Dateline NBC”
correspondent since April 1998 and the
host of the weekly syndicated series
“Your Total Health” since September
2004. The 3-time Emmy nominee lives
in New York City.
Kick-Off Party Excitement
Builds for Gala 2007 at October 16th Cocktail
Reception and Insider Artist/Photographer Studio Tour at Chelsea Market
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1) Gala honoree Carol Weisman, Fern Tessler, Richard and Jennie DeScherer; 2) Susan Golick and John Silverman; 3) Francine and
Robert Ravitz, Jennifer Dworkin, Jerry Chazen; 4) Herb and Rose Estrin; 5) Bruce Cronstein, MD, and Susan Goodman, MD; 6) Elaine
Unterman, Carol Weisman; 7) Fern Tessler, Orna Yaary, Michael Weisman; 8) Linda Mandel, Heidi Fiske; 9) David Webster, Peter Kruzan
4 • SPRING 2007 S.L.E. LUPUS FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER
October is Lupus Awareness Month
Pumpkin Festival continued from page 1
More than 30,000 carved
pumpkins lined the park’s
paths, while the Foundation
distributed nearly 10,000
orange lupus awareness
wristbands in honor of Lupus
Awareness Month.
Former NFL Super Bowl
star Jerome “The Bus” Bettis
made a special appearance at
the S.L.E. Lupus
Foundation’s tent to help
pass out wristbands and lupus
fact cards, and sign autographs and take pictures with
fans. As a presenting sponsor and
long-time partner of Camp Sunshine,
the Foundation also hosted the festival’s Pumpkin Patch and gave away
gourds to the first 7,500 attendees.
“For the past eight summers, we have
sent New York City kids affected by
lupus and their families to Camp
Sunshine in Maine for a much-needed week of joy, peace
and relaxation,” said Foundation Executive Director,
Margaret Dowd. “The Pumpkin Festival is a terrific opportunity for our organizations to bring New Yorkers together for a fun
day in the park to support a wonderful cause and to educate more people
about lupus.”
The Foundation created the orange loop as the defining global symbol of lupus 10 years ago, and urges
everyone to “Get into the Loop” and work for a time when lupus can be prevented, treated, and cured.
Third Annual New York City Hospital Tour
Launches Busiest Awareness Month Ever
This year’s Tour made stops at five hospitals—one in each borough—and highlighted such wide-ranging topics as clinical trials, pregnancy in lupus, and common complications of the illness. Many
top lupus experts in New York City took
part. The turnout was tremendous.
The activity-filled month also included a
Young Professionals Party at PM Lounge
in the Meatpacking District (story, R),
and a kick-off party for the Foundation’s
Life Without Lupus Gala at Chelsea
Market’s Atelier M&W (story, pg. 3).
Pumpkin Festival Lights
Up Times Square!
October’s activities peaked with Central
Park’s first-ever Camp Sunshine
Pumpkin Festival (story, pg. 1 and above),
where the Foundation distributed nearly
10,000 lupus awareness bracelets.
And finally, our new Teen Message
Board had its official launch (story, pg. 8).
Thanks to everyone who
joined us in raising awareness of lupus across New
York City this fall!
Displayed 5 X on world's largest
digital sign—more than 7,000
square feet—in Times Square at
42nd Street and 7th Avenue!
SPRING 2007 S.L.E. LUPUS FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER • 5
Camp Sunshine Sparkles for Families with Lupus
For the 8th consecutive
year, Camp Sunshine
and the Foundation
have partnered to give
children with lupus
and their families a
summertime escape
from the daily stresses
of coping with lupus.
In August, along the shady shores of
Lake Sebago in southwestern Maine, a
group of children with lupus had the
chance to be just like other kids at summer camp—swimming, kayaking, and
exploring the outdoors—without having
to worry about pills, doctor’s appointments or feeling “different.”
Many spent the school year looking forward to their week at Camp Sunshine,
knowing that they would find friends
who not only live with the same risks
and limitations, but who can truly
understand them.
The only week-long retreat in the country for families facing lupus, Camp
Sunshine plays a role not only for the
kids with the disease, but for the whole
family. Everyone is invited and everyone
benefits. Activities at the lakeside (and
indoors) consume the kids while parents
have a chance to meet in support groups
to discuss issues and concerns that lupus
poses. Doctors and nurses on site take
care of any kids who feel unwell during
the week.
The Foundation is proud to sponsors
more than 30 families from the New
York metropolitan area at Camp
Sunshine every summer. Learn more
about Camp Sunshine on
LupusNY.org—click on “Helping Kids.”
Summer 2008—Foundation the Solo
Sponsor at Camp Sunshine Lupus Week!
S.L.E. Lupus Foundation Commits $60,000
Next summer, the Foundation will give 40 families a chance to
enjoy this summertime escape at no cost. To get your application
for August 2008, contact Anita Cruso at the Foundation at
212-685-4118 or email [email protected].
175+ Young Professionals Party to Support Lupus Fight
Celebrating Lupus Awareness Month in style, the Foundation’s
Young Professionals Committee hosted its 3rd annual fundraiser on October 11th at PM Lounge in Manhattan’s fashionable
Meatpacking District.
Young professionals with lupus, their friends, family members
and supporters raised $25,000, lifting their voices (and their
glasses!) to support the fight against this devastating disease.
Committee member, Annie Ravitz, spoke poignantly to the
crowd about the challenges she has faced with lupus, and the
importance of raising awareness. “My hope is that you leave
here tonight and talk to five people you know about lupus, and
that they then talk to five people they know about lupus, and
on and on, so that we can make lupus a topic on everyone’s
minds!”
Foundation Board Member Heidi Fiske thanked everyone for
the amazing turn out and stressed the importance of the gener-
ation represented at the
party—young professionals in their 20s, 30s, and
40s—taking the reigns and
engaging in the fight
against lupus.
A surprise auction of
Major League Baseball
playoff tickets added buzz
to the evening, as did a raffle of more than 30 items donated by
Gucci, Bliss, Diane Von Furstenberg, HBO, DKNY, Anthony
for Men, and other designers and companies.
Guests left with swag bags (valued at more than $75)
containing, among other items, The Mere Mortal’s Guide to
Fine Dining, ESPN Magazine, and gifts from Ben Sherman,
Redken, Philosophy, Carol’s Daughter, Laura Mercier, and
Hollywood Fashion Tape.
Thanks to all the committee members, and to everyone who attended. We hope to see you again next year!
6 • SPRING 2007 S.L.E. LUPUS FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER
News from the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation’s Research Partner, the Lupus Research Institute (LRI)—
the only national nonprofit organization singularly devoted to pioneering innovative research in lupus.
Lupus Research Institute Strategy
Delivers $30 Million at National
Institutes of Health
Propels Novel Lupus Research to New
Levels Despite Federal Budget Tightening
The LRI strategy of backing innovative but
high-risk investigations into lupus has yielded
an unprecedented figure—$30 million—in
large-scale funding from the NIH and other
sources.
Delivered by the LRI Research Classes of
2001 through 2004, in whom the LRI invested $9 million for $300,000 awards over 3
years, the large-scale funding was won by the
61 percent who were successful in confirming
their innovative hypotheses on why and how
lupus happens and what can be done to prevent and treat it.
“The LRI has been the leader in seeking and
funding unproven but promising scientific
hypotheses in lupus,” said Mark Shlomchik,
MD, PhD, professor of Laboratory Medicine
and Immunology at Yale University School of
Medicine and a member of the LRI Scientific
Advisory Board.
“By supporting brilliant but untested ideas in
lupus, we are ensuring that exploration into
this devastating illness continues,” said LRI
Board of Directors Co-Chair, Robert J.
Ravitz.
Latest Round of Novel Research Awards Brings Promise of More
Breakthroughs in Lupus
LRI CLASS OF 2007
In October the Lupus Research
Jennifer Anolik, MD, PhD
Institute announced its 6th round of
University of Rochester
B cell homeostasis during B cell depletion therapy in mice
Novel Research Grants—crucial funds
Barton, PhD
to scientists across the nation primed to Gregory
University of California, Berkeley
The role of ubiquitin-mediated downregulation of TLR7
explore entirely new ideas on why and
and TLR9 in lupus
how the lupus immune system so tragi- Loren Erickson, PhD
University of Virginia
cally attacks the body it should be proThe Role of Nba2 in Plasma Cell Differentiation
tecting.
Nir Hacohen, PhD
The outlay of $300,000 to each of the
12 scientists in this latest round of
grants brings the LRI’s total investment
in novel lupus research to $22 million
for 85 grants since the Institute was
founded in 2000—the largest number
and the widest range of privately funded
lupus research nationwide. Studies span
51 academic medical centers across 20
states.
This year’s recipients of the highly competitive grants, which propose investigations that range from fundamental
exploration of the immune system to
clinical studies in humans, were selected
by the Institute’s distinguished Peer
Review Committee because of their
unique and potentially groundbreaking
nature. Learn more at
LupusResearchInstitute.org.
Massachusetts General Hospital
Identification of genes that mediate the response to SLE
immune complexes
Vicki Kelley, PhD
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Colony Stimulating Factor 1: Role in Cutaneous Lupus
Marianthi Kiriakidou, MD
University of Pennsylvania
Expression and function of T cell-specific microRNAs in a
murine SLE model
Tracy McGaha, PhD
Temple University
Marginal Zone Macrophages in the Maintenance of
Peripheral Tolerance
Yorgo Modis, PhD
Yale University
Structural basis of endogenous nucleic acid recognition by
TLR7 and TLR9
Thomas Rothstein, MD, PhD
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
An Alternate BCR Signaling Pathway to Autoimmunity
Anne Stevens, MD, PhD
Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center
Mechanisms of PD-L1 Dysregulation in Pediatric Lupus
Betty Tsao, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles
The Role of X-linked Genes in Risk for Male Lupus
Matthias Wabl, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Retroelement as etiological agent in lupus
Advocacy Victory for LRI National Coalition New NIH Plan, Initiated by National Coalition’s Clarion Call, Brightens Horizon for
Lupus Research
Request: June 2004, LRI
Advocates meet with House
Appropriations Committee
Chairman, Bill Young
(R-Fla), to describe the need
for a 5-year research plan for
lupus across all relevant
Institutes of the NIH.
Action: Fiscal 2005 House
Appropriations Committee
Report asks the NIH to
develop a lupus strategy to
“cover the full spectrum of
lupus research.” NIAMS
meeting shapes and formulates scientific plan.
Result: In August 2007: A
Strategic Plan: Future
Directions for Lupus
Research—a plan to guide the
nation’s investment in lupus.
Pictured with Rep. Bill Young
[center] in June 2004, L to R:
LRI President and CEO,
Margaret G. Dowd, Lupus
Foundation of Mid & NNY’s
President, Kathleen Arntsen,
Secretary Sandi Frear, and
Treasurer Sarah Eastup
Across the powerful institutes of the NIH, work to
prevent, treat, and cure lupus
gets underway. Things are
happening in lupus research.
“The ultimate goal of this plan is to identify needs
and opportunities from both public and private
organizations to continue to accelerate progress in
lupus research to further improve quality of life of
patients who have lupus.”
—Stephen I. Katz, MD, PhD, Director of NIAMS
Read the plan on
www.niams.nih.gov or
through the LRI website,
LupusResearchInstitute.org.
Send your letters of thanks for
his commitment to lupus
research to us by November 30,
and we’ll deliver them directly
to Congressman Young.
THANK CONGRESSMAN
YOUNG YOURSELF!
Join us in thanking Florida
Congressman Bill Young for
making a difference in the
lives of the more than 1.5
million Americans with this
devastating illness.
Email letters to
[email protected]
or mail to:
Thank You
Congressman Young!
c/o Lupus Research Institute
330 Seventh Ave, Suite 1701
New York, NY 10001
SPRING 2007 S.L.E. LUPUS FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER • 7
Happenings at Lupus LA The S.L.E. Lupus Foundation West Coast Affiliate
Third Annual Patient Conference
Nearly 100 people with lupus and their
families attended the Lupus LA conference at Cedars Sinai Medical Center to
learn about new treatments and therapies
from leading experts and researchers.
See the New Look at LupusLA.org
Check out www.LupusLA.org for the latest news on lupus, research findings,
what’s happening for people with lupus,
and fundraising events in Los Angeles
County.
New site features
• Cleaner, brighter look
• Greater focus on the community
• The latest on exciting research
developments
Mary Norton Boutique Opening
Supports Lupus Research
Luxury handbag and shoe designer Mary
Norton opened her newest boutique in
Los Angeles this past September and
donated a percentage of the opening
week proceeds to Lupus LA to benefit
the novel lupus research of the Lupus
Research Institute. Norton was diagnosed
with lupus nearly 10 years ago.
Norton will have a place of honor at this
year’s “Hollywood Bag Ladies” Lupus
Luncheon where she will present a
runway fashion show of her newest
collection of handbags and shoes.
Mary Norton (R)
and Lisa Rinna (TV
Guide Channel)
strike a pose on
the red carpet at
the “Moonlight and
Magnolias”
shopping event to
celebrate the
opening of
Norton’s LA
boutique and to
benefit Lupus LA.
Maureen McMahon, MD, launched the
presentation segment of the program
with a talk on “Heart Disease and
Preventive Measures.” McMahon has
done groundbreaking work in this area
with LRI-funded researcher Bevra Hahn,
MD. She is herself the recipient of a joint
LRI and American College of
Rheumatology fellowship grant.
Swamy Venuturupalli, MD, spoke on
“Alternative Treatments for Lupus: Do
They Work?” Dr. Wallace continued
with a talk on “New Therapies for Lupus
and Clinical Trials.” The presentations,
which were each followed by an opportunity for people in the audience to ask
questions, ended with a discussion by
Perry Nicassio, PhD, on “Coping with
Lupus.”
Lupus LA Clinical Trials Program
Voices Need for Participation
With fifteen clinical trials in lupus underway in the Los Angeles area alone, and
10 more currently recruiting participants,
Lupus LA hosted its first event to educate the public about the importance of
trials to finding new treatments in
October.
The free “Lupus Together for Clinical
Trials Today” program, which took place
in Culver City, featured presentations by
Lupus LA founder Daniel J. Wallace,
MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center/UCLA Medical Center, and
Jennifer Grossman, MD, of UCLA
Medical Center.
More than 15,000 visitors have logged on
to LupusTrials.org, the official site of the
Lupus Together for Clinical Trials Today
campaign, since it launched in May 2007.
“It’s important to be informed about the
clinical trial process and weigh the pros
and cons of participating,” Dr. Wallace
said. “New therapies that can be identified in clinical trails are critical in the
search for a better life for people with
lupus. Physicians and scientists are committed to finding these breakthrough
treatments. People with lupus are needed, too, as partners in this quest.”
• • SAVE THE DATES 2008 • •
Maureen McMahon, MD, Daniel J. Wallace,
MD, and Swamy Venuturupalli, MD.
A series of lively roundtable discussions
on such subjects as “Pregnancy and
Women’s Issues” (moderated by Gina
Posalski, MD) and “How to Manage
Difficult Cases” (moderated by Matt
Mundwiler, MD) followed with participation from LRI investigators, patients, and
Lupus LA representatives.
Lupus LA Executive Director Linda
David and President Adam Selkowitz
ended the day with a roundtable discussion on how to get involved with Lupus
LA.
May 1st: Evening of Love, Light &
Laughter at the Beverly Wilshire Four
Seasons Hotel
June 28th: 4th Annual Lupus LA Patient
Conference at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
IN OUR NEXT ISSUE
News and pictures from the
HOLLYWOOD BAG
LADIES LUNCHEON
honoring Marla
and Nicole Paxson
Co-starring Mistress of Ceremonies
Marla Maples, Honorary Chair Sharon
Stone, and Event Chairs Mischa Barton,
Morgan Fairchild, Kelly Stone and
Vanna White
Featuring a silent auction of 400
fabulous designer and celebrity
donated bags.
s
n
e
Te ith
w us!
Lup
Visit us in this
safe, supportive
environment.
The S.L.E. Lupus Foundation Has
Launched A Message Board For You
Find it at LupusNY.org
Membership Drive
Our new membership drive in New York
and Los Angeles aims to reinvigorate a
call to action that we’ve been sounding
for nearly 40 years—that with awareness,
education, and research, we can improve
lives while pioneering paths to a cure.
Things are changing
for people with
lupus. Count on us.
Join with us.
Let us send you the latest brochures and
information, and we’ll add some extras so
that you can also pass along a few to your
family and friends. And read about the
benefits of membership at LupusNY.org
and LupusLA.org or call 800-74-LUPUS
for membership registration forms.
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Tel: 212-685-4118
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