09/17/2026
The Lupus Research Alliance is putting more than $2 million behind a new bet: that lifestyle changes, not just drugs, could meaningfully improve life with lupus. Three pilot projects, each funded up to $750,000 over three years through the LRA's Mechanistic Clinical Award program, will dig into how ginger supplements, home-based exercise, and a whole-health empowerment program affect people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
One team, led by a University of Michigan rheumatologist, is testing whether ginger can dial down neutrophil activity — the immune cells that drive inflammation in SLE — building on earlier lab and animal work.
A second project out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham will run a 16-week, video-supervised home exercise program aimed at improving muscle mitochondrial function and cutting fatigue.
The third, led by a Duke University researcher, will study the WHEEL program — a 12-week online course combining mindfulness, education, and social support — and use fMRI scans to see whether it changes how the brain processes chronic pain.
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The Lupus Research Alliance is awarding up to $750,000 to each of three projects on innovative lifestyle interventions for people with lupus.
