Milken Institute and Ann Theodore Foundation Award $600,000 to Early-Career Sarcoidosis Researchers, Launch Second Funding Cycle
核心洞察
The ATF-LOMAS grant program has committed $600,000 in its first funding cycle to three early-career faculty pursuing biomedical research in sarcoidosis (搜索).
Awardees from University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, and National Jewish Health will investigate metabolomic drivers, environmental factors, and transcriptomic signatures of the disease.
A second funding cycle is now open, offering up to $200,000 per awardee over two years, with applications due by October 26, 2026.
The Milken Institute (搜索) Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC), in partnership with the Ann Theodore Foundation (搜索) (ATF), announced on June 18, 2026 that the Ann Theodore Foundation Learning Opportunities in Medicine and Sarcoidosis (搜索) (ATF-LOMAS) grant program has committed its first cycle of funding, totaling $600,000 to early-career faculty conducting biomedical research in sarcoidosis. Concurrently, the partners have issued a request for proposals for the program's second annual funding cycle.
Sarcoidosis (搜索) is a debilitating and sometimes fatal inflammatory condition marked by abnormal clusters of immune cells in various organs, most frequently in the lungs. People living with the condition may experience extreme fatigue, breathing difficulties, joint pain, fever, or eye inflammation. These complications may resolve spontaneously within one to two years for some individuals, while they may be lifelong or recurrent for others. Currently, general anti-inflammatory agents are the only US Food and Drug Administration-approved medications commonly used to treat sarcoidosis, which may mitigate symptoms but cannot address the disorder's underlying causes.
Inaugural Awardees and Research Projects
ATF-LOMAS' inaugural cohort of awardees will lead scientifically rigorous research projects with the potential to elucidate the underlying biology of sarcoidosis (搜索). The three funded projects span distinct but complementary approaches to understanding the disease:
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Bing Ma, PhD, of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, will lead a project titled "Prognostic and Mechanistic Metabolomic Drivers of Sarcoidosis (搜索) Progression," investigating the metabolic signatures that may predict and drive disease advancement.
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Kristen Mathias, MD, of Johns Hopkins University, will examine "Environmental Drivers of Clinical Heterogeneity in Pulmonary Sarcoidosis (搜索)," exploring how environmental exposures may account for the widely varying clinical presentations of the disease.
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Mary Richert, MD, of National Jewish Health, will study "Transcriptomic Signatures of Sarcoidosis (搜索)-Associated Pulmonary Fibrosis," seeking to identify gene expression patterns linked to one of the most serious complications of sarcoidosis.
Addressing a Funding and Workforce Gap
The ATF-LOMAS program was specifically developed to address the dearth of sustainable funding opportunities for sarcoidosis (搜索) researchers who are newly independent. Early-career faculty, defined as those within five years of their first independent faculty appointment, need start-up resources to develop initial data and publications that can, in turn, garner the robust funding necessary to sustain a career focused on sarcoidosis.
"Unfortunately, promising researchers and clinicians often leave the sarcoidosis (搜索) field in favor of other fields with more consistent funding, where they feel more secure building their careers," said Melissa Stevens, executive vice president of strategic philanthropy at the Milken Institute (搜索). "Gaps in research funding—and the resulting workforce gaps—like these can be remedied with targeted infusions of philanthropic capital. Grant programs like ATF-LOMAS can provide rising generations of researchers and clinicians with enough funding and guidance to create a foothold in sarcoidosis when they may not have been able to otherwise."
In addition to financial support, each ATF-LOMAS awardee receives mentorship from an experienced sarcoidosis (搜索) researcher, addressing the need for sarcoidosis-specific knowledge transfer in what remains a historically small field.
Second Funding Cycle Now Open
SPARC and ATF are now accepting new applications from early-career faculty through Monday, October 26, 2026, for ATF-LOMAS' second annual funding cycle. Awardees, to be selected in January 2027, will each receive up to $200,000 over two years to support research projects focused on the biology, epidemiology, or clinical care of sarcoidosis (搜索). Each awardee will also be paired with a faculty mentor.
Applicants are encouraged to submit optional letters of intent by Thursday, July 23, 2026, for the opportunity to receive preliminary feedback from ATF's scientific advisory board that may strengthen their subsequent full applications.
A Growing Commitment to Sarcoidosis Research
Cumulatively, ATF-LOMAS and two other grant programs created through SPARC's and ATF's partnership—ATF-BSI (Breakthrough Sarcoidosis (搜索) Initiative) and ATF-SIM (Sarcoidosis Inhibitor of mTOR (搜索))—have committed more than $15 million to sarcoidosis research to date.
"The funding that the foundation has deployed to date represents the largest single source of focused support for sarcoidosis (搜索)," said Lisa Spalding, spokesperson for the Ann Theodore Foundation (搜索). "More importantly, we and Milken Institute (搜索) SPARC ensure that this support reaches foundational scientific and medical infrastructure, such as an engaged workforce and early-stage biomedical research. In a historically small and fragile field, we believe that building a self-sustaining pool of community and resources is the surest strategy to ultimately advance better treatments and care regimens for those with sarcoidosis and their families."
The Milken Institute (搜索)'s SPARC has partnered with ATF since 2020 to improve scientific understanding of and care for sarcoidosis (搜索). Adding new professionals to the field and ensuring a continuous pipeline of talent remains critical for building a clearer picture of this condition and improving care for people who live with it.