FSR invests $400K in 4 early-stage sarcoidosis research projects
2 focus on when the disease affects the heart, while 2 are pilot studies
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The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) has announced $400,000 in new funding to support early-stage research projects aimed at improving the diagnosis, treatment, and management of the rare inflammatory disease.
The funding is divided into four grants of $100,000 each. Two were awarded to projects focused on cardiac sarcoidosis, a form of the disease that affects the heart. The remaining two grants support pilot studies in sarcoidosis — small early research projects that explore new ideas and help guide future studies.
“Each of these projects was selected because it has the potential to shift what is possible for people living with sarcoidosis,” Mary McGowan, president and CEO at FSR, said in a foundation press release detailing the awards. Three went to U.S. researchers, while the fourth will provide funding for a scientist in Europe.
“By focusing on cardiac sarcoidosis and high-impact pilot studies, these awards will not only improve how we diagnose and treat this complex disease today, but also lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s clinical trials, targeted therapies, and personalized care strategies,” McGowan said.
Sarcoidosis is characterized by the formation of granulomas, or small clusters of immune cells, in various parts of the body. These clusters most often form in the lungs and lymph nodes, but they can affect almost any organ and may interfere with its normal function.
Cardiac sarcoidosis is ‘poorly understood,’ researcher says
When sarcoidosis affects the heart, as it does in about one-third of people with the disease, it’s known as cardiac sarcoidosis. Granulomas in the heart can disrupt the organ’s electrical system, leading to irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias.
One of the awards from the FSR’s Cardiac Sarcoidosis Grant program was given to Nisha Gilotra, MD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Maryland, for her project “Multidimensional Phenotypic Stratification in Cardiac Sarcoidosis: A Machine Learning and Patient-Centered Approach to Clarifying Disease Heterogeneity.”
Her team will use artificial intelligence to analyze heart images to predict arrhythmia and other heart-related outcomes in people with cardiac sarcoidosis. The goal is to integrate patient perspectives and clinical data to better understand the different forms of cardiac sarcoidosis and to improve predictions of symptoms, treatment response, and heart-related events.
“This funding will allow us to better [characterize] cardiac sarcoidosis, a [variable] and poorly understood complication of sarcoidosis that is life threatening for our patients,” Gilotra said. “We are immensely grateful for this opportunity to apply novel strategies to the investigation of to whom, when and how sarcoidosis develops in the heart, and what it means for our patients’ trajectory.”
The second cardiac sarcoidosis grant was awarded to Chieh-Yu Lin, MD, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, for her project “Molecular Imaging to Measure Disease Activity and Predict Treatment Response in Cardiac Sarcoidosis.”
The project will focus on CCR2, an inflammation marker, and explore whether specialized PET scans, designed to detect CCR2, can help diagnose cardiac sarcoidosis and monitor treatment response.
“Cardiac sarcoidosis is … so challenging to diagnose despite our best efforts,” Lin said. “This grant will enable me to work with an excellent multidisciplinary team to improve the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy for cardiac sarcoidosis patients, and I am grateful to have this opportunity.”
1 pilot study aims to advance personalized care in sarcoidosis
Through FSR’s Pilot Grant program, Christen Vagts, MD, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, received a grant to launch a pilot study titled “Monocyte Dysregulation as a Driver of Fibrotic Progression in Sarcoidosis.”
Her research will examine immune cells called monocytes in the blood and whether changes in these cells may contribute to fibrosis, or scarring, in the lungs and other organs. The goal is to help identify patients who may be at higher risk for long-term organ damage.
This pilot funding provides critical momentum toward translating [research] insights into future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for a community with few effective options.
“I am working to uncover the immune circuits that contribute to fibrotic progression and generate a clearer framework for how this disease evolves,” Vagts said. “This pilot funding provides critical momentum toward translating those insights into future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for a community with few effective options.”
The final pilot study grant was awarded to Vivienne Kahlmann, MD, of Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands, for a project titled “High-Resolution Computed Tomography Phenotypes and their Correlation with Pulmonary Function and Treatment Response in Pulmonary Sarcoidosis.”
Her team will analyze CT scans from PREDMETH (NCT04314193), a clinical trial that compared two common treatments for pulmonary sarcoidosis, which occurs when the disease affects the lungs. Working with colleagues, Kahlmann aims to identify imaging patterns associated with lung function and treatment response, which could help doctors make more personalized treatment decisions.
“We are grateful that the FSR has honored our grant proposal,” Kahlmann said. “By analyzing [CT scan-based disease profiles] and evaluating their associations with lung function and treatment response, this study aims to support treatment decisions and advance personalized care in sarcoidosis.”
