The best way to help people living with scleroderma is to fund the most promising research aimed at improved therapies and a cure.

Research is the cornerstone of the Scleroderma Research Foundation’s existence. Only from continued investment in top quality medical research will discoveries be made to help people living with scleroderma and improve their quality of life. To that end, we press forward with finding, funding and facilitating the most promising research projects at institutions around the world.

The Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) funds research aimed at understanding scleroderma pathogenesis (disease development), identifying markers for disease progression, developing new and more relevant animal models for scleroderma and developing new therapies. Through generous donations, the SRF awards research grants totaling more than $1,000,000 annually and is the largest nonprofit source of funds for scleroderma research.

Our core projects are aimed at understanding how the immune system and vasculature malfunction, how fibrosis begins and progresses as well as the interrelationships among these facets of the disease. Research relating to disease mechanisms provides a basis for identifying new therapeutic targets and the SRF actively promotes the exploration of new therapies.

The Foundation continues to focus significant energy on developing animal models that mimic aspects of scleroderma. These models will allow researchers to ask questions that cannot be asked in human studies and will complement experiments done with human tissue. Additionally, the SRF funds research aimed at identifying scleroderma biomarkers. Effective biomarkers could be used for early diagnosis, predicting and monitoring disease progression and assessing response to therapies.

The Scleroderma Research Foundation is dedicated to fostering the creation and continued success of Scleroderma Clinical Centers of Excellence. At these Centers, physicians representing many different specialties, such as rheumatology, pulmonology, cardiology, gastroenterology and dermatology are dedicated to clinical research and the care of scleroderma patients. Patients receive integrated care at the Centers and because all of the specialists are present and work closely together, standards of scleroderma care can be advanced. The Centers are also critical for training the next generation of scleroderma physicians and clinical investigators. Physicians and clinical investigators at the Centers play an integral role in other research projects funded by the SRF by providing vital clinical expertise.

With the expert guidance of our esteemed Scientific Advisory Board, our research projects are evaluated annually at the SRF Scientific Workshop, where intensive review and discussion of the next critical steps take place. The workshop is a forum for leading scientists from inside and outside the SRF program to provide new perspectives on the search for a cure, while promoting synergy among investigators and advancing the growing understanding of scleroderma.

Understanding of scleroderma at the cellular and molecular level is increasing thanks in part to partnerships the SRF has facilitated. Increasingly, SRF-funded scientists are exploring new opportunities that will translate laboratory advances into effective therapies to help patients live longer, fuller lives.

The Scleroderma Research Foundation is leading the scleroderma research effort by:

• Promoting collaboration and cross-institutional cooperation among scientists in a variety of disciplines, through a strategic, integrated program.
• Attracting promising new scientists to scleroderma research, through its Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.
• Promoting and maintaining Scleroderma Centers of Excellence, such as the Scleroderma Center at Johns Hopkins University.
• Bringing new experts, technology and forward thinking to the field of scleroderma research.