The Milken Institute Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC), in partnership with the Ann Theodore Foundation (ATF), announced today that it has committed a total of $600,000 in funding to junior faculty conducting sarcoidosis biomedical research in the first cycle of the Ann Theodore Foundation Learning Opportunities in Medicine and Sarcoidosis (ATF-LOMAS) grant program. At the same time, SPARC and ATF issued a request for proposals from young sarcoidosis researchers for the program’s second annual funding cycle.
The first group of ATF-LOMAS awardees will lead scientifically rigorous research projects with the potential to elucidate the underlying biology of sarcoidosis.
- institution: University of Maryland, Baltimore
Chief researcher: Dr. Bin Ma
project: PCognitive and mechanistic metabolomic factors in sarcoidosis progression
- institution: Johns Hopkins University
Chief researcher: Kristen Mathias, MD
project: Environmental factors in clinical heterogeneity in pulmonary sarcoidosis
- institution: National Jewish Health
Chief researcher: Mary Richert, MD
project: Transcriptomic features of sarcoidosis-associated pulmonary fibrosis
Additionally, ATF and SPARC are accepting new applications from junior faculty until Monday, October 26, 2026, for ATF-LOMAS’s second annual funding cycle. Winners, to be selected in January 2027, will receive up to US$200,000 over two years to support research projects focused on the biology, epidemiology, or clinical care of sarcoidosis. Each recipient will also be paired with a faculty mentor. Applicants are encouraged to submit an optional Letter of Intent by Thursday, July 23, 2026, for an opportunity to receive preliminary feedback from ATF’s Scientific Advisory Board that may enhance subsequent full applications. For more information, please see the ATF-LOMAS Request for Proposals: https://milkeninstitute.org/content-hub/rfps/request-proposals-ann-theodore-foundation-learning-opportunities-medicine-and-sarcoidosis-0
Sarcoidosis is a debilitating and sometimes fatal inflammatory condition characterized by abnormal clusters of immune cells in various organs, most often in the lungs. People living with this condition may experience extreme fatigue, difficulty breathing, joint pain, fever, and eye irritation. These complications may resolve on their own within a year or two for some people, but for others they can last a lifetime or recur. Generic anti-inflammatory drugs are the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs commonly used to treat sarcoidosis, and although they may reduce symptoms, they do not address the underlying cause of the disease.
“SPARC at the Milken Institute is proud to partner with ATF starting in 2020 to advance the scientific understanding and care of sarcoidosis,” said Melissa Stevens, Executive Vice President of Strategic Philanthropy at the Milken Institute. “Unfortunately, promising researchers and clinicians often leave the field of sarcoidosis in favor of other fields with more stable funding and a more secure career path. Lack of research funding and resulting workforce shortages can be remedied with a targeted infusion of philanthropic funding. Grant programs like ATF-LOMAS This program can provide sufficient funding and guidance to a younger generation of researchers and clinicians who have otherwise failed to gain a foothold in sarcoidosis.”It is important to add new experts to the field and ensure a continuous pipeline of talent to gain a clearer picture of this condition and improve care for people living with it.” ”
SPARC and ATF developed ATF-LOMAS to address the lack of sustainable funding opportunities for newly independent sarcoidosis researchers as part of the partners’ broader efforts to combat the already poor funding environment for sarcoidosis researchers at all career stages. Early career faculty, defined here as faculty within 5 years of their first independent faculty appointment, need start-up resources to develop early data and publications, thereby gaining the strong funding needed to sustain a sarcoidosis-focused career. In addition to funding, each ATF-LOMAS awardee will receive mentorship from an experienced sarcoidosis researcher to address sarcoidosis-specific knowledge transfer needs in such a small field. ATF-LOMAS and two other grant programs created through the SPARC and ATF partnership, ATF-BSI (Breakthrough Sarcoidosis Initiative) and ATF-SIM (mTOR Sarcoidosis Inhibitors), have collectively committed more than $15 million to sarcoidosis research to date.
The funds the Foundation has deployed to date represent the largest single source of focused support for sarcoidosis. More importantly, we and Milken Institute SPARC will ensure that this support reaches basic scientific and medical infrastructure, including a dedicated workforce and early-stage biomedical research. We believe that building a self-sustaining pool of communities and resources in this historically small and fragile field is the surest strategy to ultimately advance better treatments and care plans for sarcoidosis patients and their families. ”
Lisa Spalding, Ann Theodore Foundation Public Relations Officer
