--- title: Featured Posts Archives image: https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg --- [Skip to content](#content) [Donate](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/?campaign=697841) # Featured Posts [![Autoimmune Association Image Do Not Touch](https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg)](https://autoimmune.org/blog/congressional-briefing-highlights-progress-and-promise-in-autoimmune-disease-research/) ## [Congressional Briefing Highlights Progress and Promise in Autoimmune Disease Research](https://autoimmune.org/blog/congressional-briefing-highlights-progress-and-promise-in-autoimmune-disease-research/) August 10, 2026 [Featured Posts](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/) [Research](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/research/) A New Approach to Autoimmune Research On July 22, 2026, the Autoimmune Association, in partnership with the National Coalition of Autoimmune Patient Groups,... [Read More](https://autoimmune.org/blog/congressional-briefing-highlights-progress-and-promise-in-autoimmune-disease-research/) [![Autoimmune Association Image Do Not Touch](https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg)](https://autoimmune.org/blog/autoimmune-awareness-month-why-awareness-matters/) ## [Autoimmune Awareness Month: Why Awareness Matters](https://autoimmune.org/blog/autoimmune-awareness-month-why-awareness-matters/) February 25, 2026 [Autoimmune Association News](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/aarda-news/) [Featured Posts](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/) Join Us This March Molly Murray,  President and CEO, Autoimmune Association Every March, Autoimmune Awareness Month shines a light on a group of... [Read More](https://autoimmune.org/blog/autoimmune-awareness-month-why-awareness-matters/) [![Autoimmune Association Image Do Not Touch](https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg)](https://autoimmune.org/blog/how-a-nobel-winning-discovery-is-transforming-autoimmune-disease-treatment/) ## [How a Nobel-Winning Discovery Is Transforming Autoimmune Disease Treatment](https://autoimmune.org/blog/how-a-nobel-winning-discovery-is-transforming-autoimmune-disease-treatment/) January 8, 2026 [Featured Posts](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/) [Immune System](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/immune-system/) [Research](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/research/)   “This is not a pill you’ll take every day. It is not a product you’re going to inject every week or every... [Read More](https://autoimmune.org/blog/how-a-nobel-winning-discovery-is-transforming-autoimmune-disease-treatment/) [![Autoimmune Association Image Do Not Touch](https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg)](https://autoimmune.org/blog/jens-egpa-journey-navigating-a-rare-autoimmune-disease-with-strength-loss-and-hope/) ## [Jen’s EGPA Journey: Navigating a Rare Autoimmune Disease With Strength, Loss, and Hope](https://autoimmune.org/blog/jens-egpa-journey-navigating-a-rare-autoimmune-disease-with-strength-loss-and-hope/) December 17, 2025 [Featured Posts](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/) [General Autoimmune](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/general-autoimmune/)   Jen felt steady and strong. She had goals—buying investment property in Brisbane, building community, staying active in her work in aged care.... [Read More](https://autoimmune.org/blog/jens-egpa-journey-navigating-a-rare-autoimmune-disease-with-strength-loss-and-hope/) [![Autoimmune Association Image Do Not Touch](https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg)](https://autoimmune.org/blog/unexplained-pain-inflammatory-arthritis-and-hope/) ## [Kristin’s Autoimmune Journey: Living With Unexplained Pain, Inflammatory Arthritis, and Hope](https://autoimmune.org/blog/unexplained-pain-inflammatory-arthritis-and-hope/) December 4, 2025 [Autoimmune Heroes](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/autoimmune-heroes/) [Featured Posts](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/) [General Autoimmune](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/general-autoimmune/) Early Autoimmune Symptoms No One Could Explain One June morning in 2024, Kristin woke up earlier than usual to meet a friend and... [Read More](https://autoimmune.org/blog/unexplained-pain-inflammatory-arthritis-and-hope/) [![Autoimmune Association Image Do Not Touch](https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg)](https://autoimmune.org/blog/becoming-her-own-advocate-dimikas-challenging-journey-to-an-autoimmune-diagnosis/) ## [Becoming Her Own Advocate: Dimika’s Challenging Journey to an Autoimmune Diagnosis](https://autoimmune.org/blog/becoming-her-own-advocate-dimikas-challenging-journey-to-an-autoimmune-diagnosis/) November 2, 2025 [Autoimmune Heroes](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/autoimmune-heroes/) [Featured Posts](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/) [General Autoimmune](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/general-autoimmune/) When Autoimmune Symptoms Don’t Add Up Dimika didn’t expect to become an advocate. At first, she was simply trying to survive a slew... [Read More](https://autoimmune.org/blog/becoming-her-own-advocate-dimikas-challenging-journey-to-an-autoimmune-diagnosis/) [![Autoimmune Association Image Do Not Touch](https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg)](https://autoimmune.org/blog/autoimmune-association-urges-federal-reform-of-340b-program-to-protect-patients/) ## [Autoimmune Association Urges Federal Reform of 340B Program to Protect Patients](https://autoimmune.org/blog/autoimmune-association-urges-federal-reform-of-340b-program-to-protect-patients/) October 23, 2025 [Advocacy](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/advocacy/) [Featured Posts](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/)   The Autoimmune Association welcomes the Senate HELP Committee’s hearing examining the growth and impact of the 340B Drug Pricing Program. For the... [Read More](https://autoimmune.org/blog/autoimmune-association-urges-federal-reform-of-340b-program-to-protect-patients/) [![Autoimmune Association Image Do Not Touch](https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg)](https://autoimmune.org/blog/autoimmune-disease-in-native-communities/) ## [Raising Awareness of Autoimmune Disease in Native Communities](https://autoimmune.org/blog/autoimmune-disease-in-native-communities/) October 14, 2025 [Autoimmune Association News](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/aarda-news/) [Featured Posts](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/) For the second year in a row, the Autoimmune Association proudly participated in Tulsa’s Native American Day celebration, held Monday, October 13, at... [Read More](https://autoimmune.org/blog/autoimmune-disease-in-native-communities/) [![Autoimmune Association Image Do Not Touch](https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg)](https://autoimmune.org/blog/a-nurses-story-of-balancing-hashimotos-and-graves/) ## [A Nurse’s Story of Balancing Hashimoto’s and Graves’](https://autoimmune.org/blog/a-nurses-story-of-balancing-hashimotos-and-graves/) September 5, 2025 [Autoimmune Heroes](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/autoimmune-heroes/) [Featured Posts](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/) [General Autoimmune](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/general-autoimmune/) At 45, Riya is a nurse and mom of two teenagers. She has spent her career caring for patients, helping them navigate their... [Read More](https://autoimmune.org/blog/a-nurses-story-of-balancing-hashimotos-and-graves/) [![Autoimmune Association Image Do Not Touch](https://autoimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/placeholder.jpg)](https://autoimmune.org/blog/living-with-myasthenia-gravis-one-mans-journey-from-symptoms-to-diagnosis/) ## [Living with Myasthenia Gravis: One Man’s Journey from Symptoms to Diagnosis](https://autoimmune.org/blog/living-with-myasthenia-gravis-one-mans-journey-from-symptoms-to-diagnosis/) August 19, 2025 [Featured Posts](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/featured-posts/) [General Autoimmune](https://autoimmune.org/blog/category/general-autoimmune/) When John first began experiencing fatigue in his eyes and face, he brushed it off as stress. He was in his early 40s,... 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[Sign Up](https://go.pardot.com/l/864732/2021-01-25/mnz6b3) ```json {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@graph":[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/autoimmune.org\/blog\/congressional-briefing-highlights-progress-and-promise-in-autoimmune-disease-research\/#videoobject","url":"https:\/\/autoimmune.org\/blog\/congressional-briefing-highlights-progress-and-promise-in-autoimmune-disease-research\/","headline":"Congressional Briefing Highlights Research Progress","datePublished":"2026-08-10T19:32:30-04:00","dateModified":"2026-08-13T12:23:44-04:00","description":"Explore key progress in autoimmune disease research, including OADR initiatives, coordinated research, new treatments, and continued federal support.","transcript":"A New Approach to Autoimmune Research On July 22, 2026, the Autoimmune Association, in partnership with the National Coalition of Autoimmune Patient Groups, hosted its second Congressional Briefing on the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research (OADR) and the future of autoimmune research in the United States. The briefing highlighted progress in implementing the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Autoimmune Disease Research and the opportunities ahead to build on that momentum. Molly Murray, President and CEO of the Autoimmune Association, moderated a panel featuring patients, family members, researchers, and federal research leaders. Together, they explored how greater coordination across autoimmune diseases is changing research \u2014 and what continued federal support could make possible. More than 50 million Americans live with one or more of over 140 known autoimmune diseases. Yet autoimmune disease research receives less than three cents of every dollar invested in NIH research. Historically, autoimmune research has often been divided by individual diseases, medical specialties, and NIH institutes and centers. The creation of OADR marked an important change by establishing a federal office dedicated to coordinating autoimmune research across NIH and identifying opportunities for researchers to work together. \u00a0View the Recording Moving From Planning to Action Dr. Victoria Shanmugam, Director of OADR within the NIH Office of Research on Women\u2019s Health, shared how the office is moving from strategic planning to implementation. Since releasing the first NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Autoimmune Disease Research, OADR has established a coordinating committee representing NIH institutes and centers that fund autoimmune research, supported scientific awards and clinical trials, launched the NOURISH Challenge focused on nutrition and immune health, and developed new tools to help researchers collaborate across diseases. The progress reflects a broader shift in autoimmune research: moving away from studying each disease entirely on its own and toward identifying shared biological mechanisms that may connect multiple autoimmune conditions. One example is the Autoimmune Disease Analysis Platform and Testing Space, or ADAPTS. Created in response to a congressional directive to develop a repository for autoimmune research, ADAPTS allows researchers to analyze information across multiple existing datasets without requiring the data to be moved into one central location. This approach protects data security and governance while giving researchers the ability to look for common patterns, biomarkers, and mechanisms across autoimmune diseases. Over time, this type of shared research infrastructure could help scientists identify autoimmune disease earlier, find new uses for existing treatments, improve clinical trials, and develop therapies better matched to an individual patient\u2019s immune system. Research Focused on Treating the Cause Dr. Maureen Su, a pediatric endocrinologist at UCLA and leader of an OADR-supported Autoimmune Center of Excellence, discussed how this coordinated research approach is also influencing patient care. The NIH Autoimmune Centers of Excellence bring basic scientists and clinical researchers together so that discoveries in the laboratory can move more quickly toward treatments for patients. Dr. Su explained that many autoimmune endocrine diseases have traditionally been treated by replacing hormones that are lost when the immune system attacks healthy tissue. Researchers are now asking a more ambitious question: Can the immune system itself be retrained? Research in autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 (APS-1) and type 1 diabetes is beginning to explore treatments that address the immune dysfunction driving disease rather than only managing its effects. That shift could ultimately lead to therapies that change the course of autoimmune disease. What Research Progress Means for Patients For 18-year-old Sam Finch, that progress is personal. Sam shared her experience living with APS-1, an ultrarare autoimmune disease. Her journey included years of misdiagnosis, hospitalizations, seizures, painful injections, extensive medications, hair loss, exhaustion, and major disruptions to her education. Eventually, research helped provide both a diagnosis and new treatment options. The difference has been life-changing. After missing significant periods of school, Sam graduated at the top of her class and is preparing to attend nursing school. Inspired by the care she received, she hopes to provide that same kind of support to others. Sam\u2019s mother, Robin Finch, also shared the challenges her family faced while searching for answers. For years, she researched symptoms, attended conferences, sought specialists, and navigated a healthcare system in which information was often separated by disease and medical specialty. Today, she sees greater reason for hope. Better collaboration, stronger research infrastructure, and a growing understanding of the connections among autoimmune diseases could help future patients receive answers sooner and gain access to better treatment options. Sustaining the Momentum The briefing also emphasized that continued progress depends on sustained federal investment. Robin urged policymakers to provide stable and predictable research funding, not only to support current studies but also to encourage the next generation of scientists to build careers in autoimmune research. Without that stability, promising collaborations and research programs could lose momentum. The briefing offered a hopeful look at what is possible when Congress, NIH, researchers, clinicians, advocates, patients, and families work together. OADR is already helping create a more coordinated approach to autoimmune research. Continued federal support can build on that progress, strengthen the research workforce, shorten the path to diagnosis, accelerate new treatments, and move us closer to cures for millions of people living with autoimmune disease. Progress to Date Congressional Directive OADR Progress Develop an NIH-wide strategic plan for autoimmune disease research Completed. The first NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Autoimmune Disease Research provides a shared roadmap for coordinating and advancing autoimmune research across NIH. Dr. Shanmugam confirmed at the briefing that this directive has been completed. Identify emerging areas of innovation and research opportunity Ongoing. OADR is identifying promising areas of science and creating opportunities to accelerate innovative, cross-cutting autoimmune research. Coordinate and foster collaborative research across NIH Institutes and Centers Well underway. OADR established an NIH-wide coordinating committee and is co-funding research across Institutes and Centers, helping address gaps and advance projects that might otherwise go unfunded. Evaluate the NIH autoimmune disease research portfolio Ongoing. OADR is examining research across NIH to better understand the federal autoimmune research portfolio and identify gaps and opportunities for greater coordination. Provide resources to support planning, collaboration, and innovation Expanding. OADR is supporting collaborative initiatives and research opportunities designed to bring investigators, disciplines, and patient communities together. Develop a publicly accessible repository for autoimmune disease research In implementation. OADR launched ADAPTS, a federated data platform that allows researchers to analyze information across existing datasets without moving the data from its original location.","name":"Congressional Briefing Highlights Research Progress","uploadDate":"2026-08-10T19:32:30-04:00","thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/w_XmgQ9AWp4\/hqdefault.jpg","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Colleen Kmiecik","url":"https:\/\/autoimmune.org\/blog\/author\/colleen\/","sameAs":[],"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/70669a23ed731bc2425150828e604d97af2f2091c5569da962b68d3158801569?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"contentUrl":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/w_XmgQ9AWp4","embedUrl":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/w_XmgQ9AWp4"}, {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/autoimmune.org\/blog\/category\/featured-posts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/autoimmune.org","name":"Autoimmune Association"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/autoimmune.org\/blog\/category\/featured-posts\/","name":"Featured Posts"}}]}, {"@type":"NGO","@id":"https:\/\/autoimmune.org\/#ngo","name":"Autoimmune Association","description":"The Autoimmune Association serves autoimmune patients through research, advocacy for healthcare access, and collaboration across autoimmune diseases. Founded in 1991 as the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), it now reaches over 60 countries.","url":"https:\/\/autoimmune.org","address":{"streetAddress":"19176 Hall Road, Suite 130","addressLocality":"Clinton Township","addressRegion":"MI","addressCountry":"US","postalCode":"48038"},"logo":"https:\/\/autoimmune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/logo-horizontal.svg","image":"https:\/\/autoimmune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/logo-horizontal.svg","founder":"Virginia T. Ladd","foundingDate":"1991","knowsAbout":"Autoimmune disease, autoimmune research, patient advocacy","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Autoimmunity","https:\/\/x.com\/AutoimmuneAssoc","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/autoimmuneassociation\/"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer service","telephone":"+15867763900","email":"hello@autoimmune.org"},"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","telephone":"+15867763900","email":"hello@autoimmune.org"}]} ```