Lupus Genomics and Global Health Disparities Unit

Our goal is to understand more about lupus, specifically systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), by studying a varied population of patients around the globe. Dr. Lewandowski is a clinician-scientist who has seen the impact of SLE on her patients, including severe inflammation and organ damage when the disease begins in childhood. Our primary focus is to learn more about lupus by studying patients with early-onset disease.

Dr. Lewandowski has worked internationally studying SLE. She has established collaborations to understand how lupus affects children throughout the world. Her previous work determined that pediatric lupus patients in South Africa had severe disease and high rates of non-reversible damage from inflammation.

Dr. Lewandowski now aims to use genomics and transcriptomic techniques to more fully understand the drivers of severe disease in childhood-onset patients globally. Our lab believes that lupus is a heterogeneous disease, and there are likely multiple molecular pathways that lead to this diagnosis. Defining those pathways in global populations can lead to a more refined molecular categorization of patients.

Our work is patient-focused, and our mission is to identify important targets in SLE that could be treated with precise therapeutics. The more we understand about lupus patients everywhere, the more we know about lupus in all our patients.