Our Research Program
The Arthritis Foundation Research Program seeks to maximize the impact of its research investment by focusing in three principal disease areas – Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Juvenile Arthritis. The Foundation supports high-quality, peer-reviewed research in these targeted areas in several ways.
Dr. John HardinChief Scientific Officer
- Innovative Research Grants – These multi-year grants fund high-risk, innovative projects that foster new ideas that could become tomorrow’s treatments and possible cures. Many of these creative and inventive ideas would remain unfunded without Foundation support.
- Young Investigators – These grants to young and promising scientists help attract the best and brightest minds to the field of arthritis research.
- Strategic Research Partnerships – By partnering with other organizations on critical initiatives, the Arthritis Foundation can leverage its investment for greater return.
The Arthritis Foundation Research Program seeks to maximize the impact of its research investment by focusing in three principal disease areas – Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Juvenile Arthritis. The Foundation supports high-quality, peer-reviewed research in these targeted areas in several ways.
Building on Our Success
Since 1948, the Arthritis Foundation has committed over $400 million to fund research in all areas of arthritis and its related diseases. The Foundation’s investment has helped lead to critical discoveries that have helped shape the direction of arthritis research and brought help and hope to people living with arthritis pain.
Innovative Research Grants – The Foundation has awarded millions of dollars in these grants, and the results have led to many research breakthroughs. Just one example – with the help of Arthritis Foundation funding, Dr. Farshid Guilak and his team at Duke University have developed a way to regenerate tissue that looks and acts like natural cartilage to replace worn out or damaged surfaces in joints, which could, one day soon, offer an alternative to joint replacement surgery.
Young Investigators – Thousands of young and promising researchers have been funded through these grants, and the Arthritis Foundation’s investment has paid off. Many millions in research dollars have been awarded to these scientists by the National Institutes of Health, and nearly all continued a career in arthritis and related diseases and have contributed to prevention and treatment advances.
Strategic Partnerships – The Arthritis Foundation is helping to shape the future direction of patient-based arthritis research by partnering with other organization to fund groundbreaking programs and innovative research. Right now, the Arthritis Foundation is working with the American College of Rheumatology to support, Within Our Reach, a $30 million campaign to accelerate rheumatoid arthritis research.
How We Operate
The Arthritis Foundation is the largest private, non-profit contributor to arthritis research in the world and complements government and industry-based arthritis research. Learn how our program operates.
Peer Review Process
All applications for Arthritis Foundation research awards are impartially and critically evaluated by scientific peers to ensure funds are used for the very best research. Read how the peer review process works.
