The Evelyn V. Hess Award Recipient: Professor Eric Morand
Professor Eric Morand has been awarded the 2022 Evelyn V. Hess, MD, MACP, MACR Award from the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA).
Professor Morand received the prestigious award at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) congress last night in Philadelphia and is only the second person outside of North America to be awarded the honour.
Recipients of this prestigious award include many leading scientific and clinical thought leaders in the field of lupus, recognising a researcher who has made outstanding contributions that have significantly advanced the understanding of lupus, its diagnosis and treatment.
Professor Eric Morand is the Head of the School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University and Director of Rheumatology at Monash Health. He founded the Monash Lupus Clinic, Australia’s first multidisciplinary research-focussed clinic for lupus and this formed the foundation of the Australian Lupus Registry and the Asia Pacific Lupus Collaboration, now among the largest longitudinal cohorts of SLE patients ever assembled.
His laboratory research focuses on glucocorticoid-induced mechanisms in the immune system, with the goal of leveraging natural mechanisms of glucocorticoid action to discover a safe replacement for them. His clinical research focuses on systemic lupus erythematosus, including clinical measurement, outcome predictors, and biomarkers.
“There is an amazing team of clinicians and scientists at Monash with whom it has been my privilege to work on trying to improve outcomes for lupus for many years. I share this honour with them, and with the many patients who have given their time and in some cases even their blood to help advance this cause,” said Professor Morand
Dr Morand’s research has had a direct impact on available treatments for Lupus, leading the global TULIP-2 trial evaluating AstraZeneca’s anifrolumab, which led to both US FDA and Australia TGA approvals, providing potentially the biggest breakthrough in treatment for the disease in 60 years.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Rebekah Brown, congratulated Professor Eric Morand for his award.
"Professor Morand's outstanding award reflects his dedication to achieving research impact and a commitment to furthering medical research."
"Monash is privileged to have Professor Morand as a leading researcher, and I am eager to see the continuous benefits he will create for our wider community."
About Lupus
Lupus is a chronic, complex autoimmune disease in which the immune system, which evolved to protect against infection, creates antibodies that can attack any part of the body including the kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, blood, skin, and joints.
Lupus affects millions of people worldwide; more than 90 per cent of people with lupus are women and it most often strikes during the childbearing years. It is particularly prevalent in Indigenous Australian, Asian and other non-European people, with a ten-year mortality of 10 per cent.