THE ERNA BAIRD MEMORIAL GRANT

HEIGHTENING AWARENESS FOR AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE

There is an urgent need for better awareness and understanding of autoimmune disease. The Erna Baird Memorial Grant was established five years ago to fund biomedical research into one of the rarest, most debilitating, and potentially fatal autoimmune diseases originally called Wegener’s Granulomatosis, now known as GPA (Granulomatosis with

Polyangiitis). The research is headed by Dr. Kathy Siminovitch, a renowned geneticist and leader in the field of autoimmune disease at the University Health Network/Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. It is at this time of year that the Grant, established in honour of Erna Baird - beloved wife, mother and grandmother who succumbed to the disease on June 6, 2011 - publishes its annual update disclosing the medical research advances conducted by Dr. Siminovitch. In GPA, cells of the immune system attack blood vessels causing inflammation, injury and eventually dysfunction of the lungs, kidneys and other organ systems. Like all other autoimmune disease, GPA can be challenging to diagnose and treat. It cannot be prevented or cured and may lead to early death. Recent research has confirmed that genetics plays a significant role in its development, likely interacting with various environmental factors to influence both disease onset and outcome. Previous support from the EBMG enabled Dr. Siminovitch to access and screen genetic samples from several thousand GPA patients from Canada and the USA. Through a comprehensive and complex analysis, she identified a group of four genes that play critical roles in predisposing individuals to GPA.

IMPORTANT BIO-GENETIC DISCOVERY

With continued support from the Grant, further research of Dr. Siminovitch and her colleagues focused on understanding how variants in these genes impair the body’s immune system. Her exciting, recent discovery of specific molecular pathways that connect these genetic variants to immune cell dysfunction and autoimmunity published this year in ‘Arthritis & Rheumatology’, has provided significant insight as to how and why GPA develops. Dr. Siminovitch is currently studying the impact of these newly discovered pathways on the disease, with the goal of identifying the specific mechanisms that trigger the onset and progression of GPA. Since some of these pathways predispose individuals to other autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid

arthritis and lupus, this research will enable new diagnostic and treatment approaches to achieve better health outcomes for not only GPA patients, but for all those who suffer from an autoimmune disease. For more information, or to support this research, please contact Josh Lai at UHN at 416-340-5204 or visit www.ernabairdmemorialgrant.com.