Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can cause unpredictable flares of inflammation affecting almost any organ in the body. In our research group, we view lupus as an imbalance of the immune system rather than the immune system as an enemy to a lupus patient. It’s there to defend us, not to attack us, but somehow, in lupus, it has become overactive in its defense, leading to excessive inflammation and collateral damage to the body.

The medicines used for lupus now work to suppress the immune system. But they also have unacceptable side effects and can impair the ability of the immune system to keep a person healthy, leading to serious infections and other unwanted consequences.

Instead, we’re looking for treatments that restore the balance of the immune system, such as “biologic” treatments that can drill down and target even the tiny, individual proteins of the immune system, restoring its proper balance.

At OMRF, we run the Oklahoma Lupus Cohort—a group of more than 400 people with lupus who donate blood samples and clinical information for laboratory studies, so we can help develop new targeted treatments. We also do treatment studies for lupus patients who choose to participate in the testing of new biological agents. Because lupus is such a complicated disease, these studies may help to figure out which patients should be getting each specific treatment and what the best approach to dosing is.

Our research involves the study of variables that affect immune function and blood vessel regulation. We have three projects that follow patients over time: a national registry of the antiphospholipid syndrome, the SLICC registry, which studies risk factors for premature atherosclerosis, and basic research linked to pharmaceutical-sponsored clinical trials of investigational drugs for lupus. Our group also does basic research into the ways in which lupus immune proteins interfere with structures that help maintain a healthy bloodstream.