Empowering Lupus Research Administrative Supplement

Empowering Lupus Research Administrative Supplement

Backs Supplements for promising trainees from lupus-affected communities working with active LRA/NIH/DoD funded through the Empowering Lupus Research Administrative Supplement.

The Empowering Lupus Research Administrative Supplement (ELRAS) is a trainee-support grant program of the Lupus Research Alliance (LRA), a New York 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Federal Tax ID #58-2492929) that has awarded over $284 million across 675+ lupus research grants. The supplement is specifically structured around an equity mandate: eligible trainees must reflect the communities and populations disproportionately affected by lupus — a disease that strikes Black women at two to three times the rate of white women and carries higher severity in communities of color. The ELRAS addresses the underrepresentation of researchers from these communities in the lupus science workforce.

To be eligible, a trainee must be working under the direct supervision of a qualified principal investigator who holds an active grant from the LRA, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense (DOD), or an equivalent funding agency in good standing. The eligibility structure thus functions as a supplement rather than a standalone award — the PI's existing funded project provides the research context, and the ELRAS provides trainee salary or research support on top of that base. Specific award amounts and page limits for the 2026 cycle are published in the 2026 ELRAS Request for Applications (RFA) PDF at lupusresearch.org; they are not disclosed in the HTML funding page. The 2026 cycle RFA was released in April 2026. Scientific inquiries go to Mara Lennard Richard, PhD, at mrichard@lupusresearch.org; administrative inquiries to Erin McLaughlin at emclaughlin@lupusresearch.org.

For established lupus investigators holding active LRA, NIH, or DoD grants who mentor trainees from communities affected by lupus, the ELRAS provides a mechanism to fund those trainees' participation directly. Prospective applicants should download the 2026 RFA PDF from lupusresearch.org to confirm award amounts, eligibility criteria, and submission requirements. Strong applications will demonstrate the trainee's background in or connection to lupus-affected communities, articulate the research activities the supplement will support, and show how the funded experience positions the trainee for a sustained research career in lupus or autoimmune disease.