Autoimmune Life Blog

Indigo Philo was a freshman in college when she began to get painful stomach cramps and an overwhelming sense of urgency to go to the bathroom.

The National Institutes of Health recently awarded BRI an $8 million grant to lead the center—a collaboration of researchers from BRI, UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) is waging a comprehensive fight against rheumatoid arthritis (RA). “During the last 15 years, treatments for RA have improved enormously with new therapies,” says BRI President Jane Buckner, MD, who is leading this work.

Scientists at Benaroya Research Institute recently discovered a critical pathway in peanut allergy that may extend to other food allergies.

"If it wasn’t for the Murdock Trust helping us with essential pieces of equipment and new technology for over 30 years, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve our cutting-edge research advancements,” says BRI President Jane Buckner, MD.

A day prior to her 51st birthday last year, Aline Keller fell in the shower. “Within one week I had so much pain and swelling in my hands and joints that I could barely walk,” she says.

We all know you can give blood to help ill or injured people who need it, but did you know you can also donate blood for research?

Cece Haw served as chief financial officer and partner at NBBJ, an innovative architectural design firm that works with Virginia Mason. About 25 years ago, she was frustrated about getting answers for her health care needs.

One in four people in the United States grapple with allergies, asthma or both. For years, BRI has had its sights set on helping these patients breathe easier. And our efforts just got a huge and welcome boost.

A critical factor in whether people develop an autoimmune disease is “cell communication.”  BRI principal investigator Adam Lacy-Hulbert, PhD, is studying cell communication in the gut.