Targeted Research Program on Engineered Cell Therapies for Lupus

Targeted Research Program on Engineered Cell Therapies for Lupus

Runs CART and next-generation cell therapy development in lupus through the Targeted Research on Engineered Cell Therapies for.

The Targeted Research Program on Engineered Cell Therapies for Lupus is a dedicated grant mechanism of the Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) funding next-generation engineered cell therapy development with direct and clear relevance to people living with lupus. The LRA, a New York 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Federal Tax ID #58-2492929) with over $284 million awarded to 675+ grants, identified engineered cell therapies — including CAR-T and related constructs — as a strategic priority given recent clinical signals of durable responses in autoimmune disease. The program funds two distinct tracks under one mechanism.

Track one provides up to $300,000 over two years for pre-clinical studies, including discovery and early translational projects. Track two provides up to $600,000 over two years for ancillary studies attached to ongoing or completed engineered cell therapy clinical trials for lupus. Both tracks require a well-defined translation plan that specifies how the project advances to the next development stage. Eligible applicants are universities and nonprofit research organizations; for-profit entities are ineligible as lead applicants. The last published deadline was in 2024; no 2025 or 2026 cycle was announced as of April 2026. Scientific inquiries go to Maya Bader, PhD, at mbader@lupusresearch.org, and administrative questions to Diomaris Gonzalez at dgonzalez@lupusresearch.org.

For research teams working on engineered cell therapies in autoimmune contexts, this program is one of few private foundation mechanisms specifically structured around the pre-clinical-to-clinical continuum for lupus. The tiered funding model — $300K for discovery, $600K for clinical ancillary — means both early-stage academic labs and teams affiliated with active clinical trials can compete. Proposals will be strongest when they articulate the specific translational gap being addressed, the cell therapy platform employed, and the mechanistic rationale for expecting durable benefit in lupus patients beyond the initial CAR-T depletion signal.