Two BUSM Researchers Receive Funding from Scleroderma Foundation

Two BUSM researchers, Thomas Ruenger, MD, PhD and Barbara Smith PhD, have received grants from the Scleroderma Foundation. Ruenger, professor of Dermatology, was awarded a research grant for his work in Intracellular Degradation of Collagen in Scleroderma. Smith, professor of Biochemistry, was awarded a grant for her work in Collagen Regulation in Systemic Sclerosis.

Thomas Ruenger
Thomas Ruenger
Barbara Smith
Barbara Smith

The Peer Review Committee received and reviewed 36 grant applications this year and funded research grants to eight investigators for 2012.

The Research Grant Funding Program was established in 1989. Since then, the Scleroderma Foundation and its predecessor organization have funded more than $18 million in research grants. Applications are judged by a group of their peers, guided by National Institutes of Health (NIH) protocol and criteria, to ensure that the strongest research proposals receive funding.

“The Foundation is proud and honored to continue to fund stellar researchers who have both scientific and clinical expertise needed to conduct groundbreaking studies – for it is our hope that our funds will make a significant difference to researchers whose investigations may lead to a cure,” said Tracey O’Connell Sperry, Director of Development and Research.

About Scleroderma
Scleroderma is a chronic, often progressive, autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks its own body. Scleroderma means “hard skin.” It can cause a thickening and tightening of the skin. In some cases, it causes serious damage to internal organs including the lungs, heart, kidneys, esophagus and gastrointestinal tract. As scarring, or sclerosis, of these organs and organ systems progress, they work less effectively, and can lead to organ failure and death.

Some medications and treatments can help with certain symptoms, but there is no cure for scleroderma. The disease affects about 300,000 people across the U.S. In comparison, approximately the same number of people are affected by multiple sclerosis.