Philanthropic investment expands collaborative network for autoimmune research

NYU Langone Health today announced a new philanthropic investment from longtime supporters Judy and Stewart Colton as part of a $15 million gift shared across three Colton Consortium institutions: NYU Langone, Yale University, and Tel Aviv University. Each institution receives an allocation with additional funding distributed for competitive research proposals by investigators from the consortium.

The Coltons have been foundational partners in building NYU Langone's autoimmune research program. Their relationship with the institution is generational, and their giving dates to the 1980s. The Coltons began support for autoimmune research in 2014 with a $10 million gift that established the Judith and Stewart Colton Center for Autoimmunity at NYU Langone. They have since increased their commitment, with an additional $10 million to support the NYU Langone's center in 2020, in addition to other generous support in honor of faculty and leadership.

Investigators across the Colton Consortium share ideas, technologies, patient cohorts, and expertise in real time to ask why some patients progress while others do not, and how to predict the right treatment for the right patient at the right time.

Jose U. Scher, MD, director of the Judith and Stewart Colton Center for Autoimmunity, NYU Langone HealthThe Coltons understand both the urgency and the long horizon of biomedical discovery. Their commitment reflects a deep belief in science, collaboration, and improving the lives of patients with autoimmune disease. Philanthropy like this creates hope with a practical path forward."

Under the founding leadership of Steven Abramson, MD, Dr. Scher, and Associate Directors Jill Buyon, MD. and David B. Beck, MD, PhD, NYU Langone's Colton Center has pursued a translational research model that integrates clinical care, immunology, genetics, microbiome science, and data-driven discovery. The center's work includes research into psoriatic arthritis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and other immune-mediated diseases, with findings contributing to a growing body of science that has implications for drug development and precision medicine. NYU Langone has also established a successful research relationship with biopharmaceutical company argenx as a direct outcome of Colton-funded work.

The new investment will support faculty recruitment, collaborative research projects across consortium institutions, and the infrastructure needed to sustain and grow the network's scientific output.

Source:

NYU Langone