Stewart J McCracken Award to Arpita Choudhury

Arthritis Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter has helped millions of Pennsylvanians who suffer from different kinds of arthritis and autoimmune disease like lupus. The foundation also supports outstanding investigators who are making research breakthroughs. The Stewart J McCracken Award is presented annually to the individual who receives the highest-rated research project in the Philadelphia area. The recipient for this year’s award is Dr Arpita Choudhury. Dr Choudhury became interested in autoimmune diseases when she pursued her Ph.D at the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India. She is currently pursuing research at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. Her pioneering studies on “The loss of immune tolerance in the context of lupus” has been widely acclaimed. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or "lupus" is a devastating autoimmune disease that can affect joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, the nervous system and brain. It is characterized by production of autoantibodies against a wide-spectrum of self-antigens and deposition of immune-complexes in different organs. The prevalence of lupus is estimated to range from 250,000 to more than 1 million people in the United States, typically women between the ages of 15 and 45. SLE disproportionately affects minorities. Lupus occurs three times more often in African-American women than Caucasian women and is also more common in women of Hispanic, Asian and Native-American descent. Lupus is the leading cause of death among women with autoimmune diseases who are in their childbearing years. People with lupus are at greater risk of heart attacks, strokes, osteoporosis and kidney failure than would be expected in those without lupus.

By Rajesh Talapatra, PA