MMRI to use $25,000 donation to continue lupus research

UTICA, N.Y. — The Masonic Medical Research Institute (MMRI) will use a $25,000 donation to continue its research into systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus).

Lupus and Allied Diseases Association (LADA), an all-volunteer national patient-advocacy organization located in Verona, donated the funding, MMRI said in a news release.

MMRI on Sept. 22 hosted LADA to preview the ongoing research efforts and to get a personalized tour of the facility.

Research in autoimmunity — specifically focusing on lupus — became a priority at MMRI with the 2018 recruitment of Executive Director Maria Kontaridis and Professor Gordon Moe, chair of biomedical research and translational medicine.

MMRI and LADA connected after the U.S. Department of Defense honored Kontaridis with its Lupus Impact Award.

Kontaridis and Kathleen Arntsen, president and CEO of LADA, had met at an earlier time at a lupus research conference in New York City.

“It is amazing to see that after all these years — and coming to work for MMRI here in Central New York — that Kathleen and I reconnected. This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us, working together in our shared goal to improve the lives of those living with lupus,” Kontaridis said.

“We were excited to learn about the innovative research that Dr. Kontaridis and the MMRI team are doing regarding lupus, especially since we have been part of the DOD Lupus Research Program since its inception,” Arntsen said. “But more importantly because we were proud supporters of lupus research from 1990-2000 at MMRI, providing $40,000 in research funds. We are thrilled that lupus research has returned to Utica and hope that MMRI’s dedication and expertise will benefit people with lupus and allied diseases and look forward to the promising results generated from our continued collaboration.”