Alexandria, Virginia – February 1, 2023
The National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) is pleased to announce the awarding of $200,000 in Bridge Grants. These grants will support investigators with a long-term commitment to psoriatic disease research that will drive discoveries and bring us closer to a cure while improving the lives of more than 8 million people in the U.S. living with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
NPF offers Bridge Grants to support researchers who have submitted meritorious but unfunded K-type (career development) and R-type (investigator-initiated) applications to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), or similar funding body, with a focus on psoriatic disease or comorbidities. Through this opportunity, NPF provides a critical year of further support until additional funding can be secured. These two grant investments represent the first of two cycles of Bridge Grant funding awarded by NPF during fiscal year 2023.
- James Elder, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Michigan is the primary investigator for a team of researchers working on the Linkage Analysis of Familial Psoriasis project. With the NPF grant of $100,000, they will seek to better understand the role of genetic signals in the onset of psoriasis. They will investigate questions like, Why do only some people get psoriasis, and how does the disease start?
- Scott Simon, Ph.D., of the University of California Davis will lead a team of investigators on a project titled, Neutrophil Priming in the Circulation Amplifies Effector Function That Exacerbates Psoriasis. This $100,000 NPF grant will allow them to explore the role of neutrophils – a primary line of defense against infection – in psoriasis pathology and the impacts of psoriasis biologic treatments on neutrophils.
“The National Psoriasis Foundation will forever be grateful to the late Dr. Stephen Katz for the essential role he played in helping us bring to life the NPF Bridge Grant mechanism,” said Leah M. Howard, J.D., the President and CEO of NPF. “These strategic investments during such a crucial part of the research process allow NPF to have a significant multiplying effect. The return on the investment is outstanding.”
The NPF Bridge Grant program launched in 2017 with a $100,000 award to Nicole Ward, Ph.D., and a $100,000 grant awarded to Jun Yan, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Ward used that grant to receive subsequent funding of more than $1.3 million. Dr. Yan also received substantial subsequent funding.
From 2017 to 2022, NPF funded $850,000 through the Bridge Grant mechanism. Those projects went on to receive subsequent funding totaling more than $5.9 million.
To learn more about NPF grants and fellowships, visit psoriasis.org/available-funding-opportunities. Applications for Cycle 2 of NPF Bridge Grant funding support are due Sunday, April 9, 2023.
About the National Psoriasis Foundation
Serving its community through more than 55 years of support, advocacy, research, and education, the National Psoriasis Foundation is the world’s leading nonprofit organization representing individuals with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The NPF mission is to drive efforts to cure psoriatic disease and improve the lives of more than 8 million individuals in the United States affected by this chronic immune-mediated disease. As part of that effort, NPF created its Patient Navigation Center to offer personalized assistance to everyone with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. In recent years, NPF has funded more than $30 million in research grants and fellowships that help drive discoveries that may lead to better treatments and ultimately a cure. Learn more at psoriasis.org.