Whether you are a medical or research professional, caregiver or individual who is impacted by lupus, LFM's December 15th Lupus Conference will provide you a unique opportunity to convene and interact together in one venue and gain an update on the current state of lupus today. Next month's Lupus: Advancements in Management, Treatment and Research Conference will bring together leading experts aimed at sharing advancements and expanding your knowledge about the status of lupus management, treatment and research today. Early bird registration rates end on November 30. Visit the LFM website for more details and registration.

Genetics research exploded in 2003 with the completion of the Human Genome Project. Scientists promised the world a sort of "user's manual" for the human body and commentators predicted the end of disease.

But, if DNA is the "Big Book of You," with billions of pages dedicated to recipes for height, weight and hair color, what happens when some of the pages tell the body to attack itself? And who will read the ingredients and instructions?

Those are some of the questions that researchers like Dr. Patrick Gaffney of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation spends his days studying. Using a process called "exome sequencing," Dr. Gaffney's research has opened new doors recently into understanding rare genetic diseases...

On Wednesday, May 1, LFM will continue the new tradition of the Lupus Food and Wine Classic, featuring Twin Cities' top chefs and restaurants, wines and entertainment. Mark your calendar and watch for more details soon. Contact LFM today for sponsorship and corporate involvement opportunities.

Hundreds participated in the Lupus Walk for Hope and 5K Runs in the Twin Cities, Rochester and Duluth, this fall and raised over $86,000 for lupus research and direct support. Thanks to everyone who participated, contributed, volunteered and supported in other ways. Photos albums from each event (Twin Cities, Rochester and Duluth)  are posted on our Facebook page ... check them out and experience the fun all over again.

Kim Zink and Gwenevere Alexander have been our 2012 Lupus Ambassadors, serving to lend a "face" to lupus at our fundraising events and through other opportunities throughout the year. Now they've agreed to share more of their individual lupus stories at the LFM blog and will be posting through the end of the year and into 2013. Check out their first posts now and check back often to learn of their lupus experiences, lessons and insights.

The Lupus Foundation of Minnesota (LFM) has funded over 1.8 million dollars in lupus-related research since 1981. In that time LFM has funded 108 individual student fellowships, and 57 clinical research grants all aimed at improving the treatment, and discovering a cure for this devastating autoimmune disease.

Some of the innovative research projects funded by LFM in 2012 included the study of treatments to prevent the development of life-threatening heart conditions in children, and analyzing the proteins which may predispose human autoimmune disease, in order to predict development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Pending applications for funding, receieved for 2013, include utilizing cutting edge in-vivo imaging in order to examine disease progression in joint flares leading to refined treatments, and work aimed at shedding light on the mechanism of a specific gene now known to place persons at higher risk of SLE, among others.