$2 Million in Research Grants for Juvenile Arthritis Save

July is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, and while many people think of arthritis as a disease of aging, nearly 300,000 children in the U.S. are living with a rheumatic disease.

Equally important is that 2026 marks a 50 year anniversary for Pediatric Rheumatology in the United States.

Both milestones point to the grave importance and continued unmet needs in pediatric rheumatology and juvenile rheumatic conditions.  There is a serious shortage of pediatric rheumatologists in the U.S., as seven U.S. states are without a pediatric rheumatologist and 50% of states have fewer than five pediatric rheumatologists.

This month, the Arthritis Foundation and the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) awarded $2 million in research grants to support physician-led research in pediatric rheumatology.

CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Grant Program awards for 2026 will fund research in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), pediatric lupus, juvenile dermatomyositis, childhood vasculitis, autoimmune brain disease, and more. There were two types of grants awarded this year – the Advancing Biosample Collection Award and the Mentored Career Development Award.

The CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Grant Program has provided 157 grants to 118 researchers at academic institutions, totaling nearly $12 million to advance research in pediatric rheumatic diseases and improve the lives of the children. The CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Grant Program has also led to more than $12 million in additional funding from other sources for researchers.

“The CARRA–Arthritis Foundation Grant Program fuels research that gives hope to children and families living with pediatric rheumatic diseases,” said CARRA President Jay Mehta, MD, MSEd, attending physician in the Division of Rheumatology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and director of the Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship Program. “By supporting scientific research today, we are helping create a future where our patients will have better treatment options and an improved quality of life.”

The 2026 awardees represent a cross-section of researchers focused on a wide variety of diseases, illustrating how the program empowers pediatric rheumatology research throughout our diverse community. Five of this year’s seven awardees are first-time recipients of a CARRA-Arthritis Foundation grant.  Congratulations to the 2026 CARRA-Arthritis Foundation Grant Program Awardees:

Jessica Bloom, MD, MSCS, of University of Colorado Denver, AMC and DC
Mentored Career Development Award 
Childhood Vasculitis: Risk Factors for Quality of Life and Damage Measures ​

Scott Canna, MD, of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Advancing Biosample Collection Award 
Enhancing Precision Medicine in “Very Early Onset” Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Kristina Ciaglia, MD, of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Mentored Career Development Award 
Leveraging the CARRA Registry to Guide Family-Centered Intervention in cSLE ​

Samantha Coss, MD, PhD, of Nationwide Children’s Hospital 
Mentored Career Development Award
Immune Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets in Juvenile Dermatomyositis ​

Brittany Huynh, MD, MPH, of University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine
Mentored Career Development Award
Teratogen-Exposed Pregnancy and Contraceptive Use Patterns Among AYAs with Rheumatic Disease

Yike Jiang, MD, PhD, of Duke University School of Medicine
Mentored Career Development Award 
Defining anti-MOG Antibody and Microglia Interactions

Ryan Kammeyer, MD, of University of Colorado Denver, AMC and DC 
Advancing Biosample Collection Award
Advancing Care for Neuropsychiatric Disease in Childhood-Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus