2026 LuCIN Community Meeting Focuses on Integrating Clinical Trials into Day-to-Day Clinical Care 

What if clinical trials were not a final option, but a routine part of lupus care?  

That question took center stage at the 2026 Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) Community Meeting, where people living with lupus, researchers, clinicians, and industry leaders came together to reshape the future of treatment.

LuCIN Investigators (left) and Coordinators join onsite for meaningful conversations on lupus treatment progress. 

LuCIN is a network overseen by Lupus Therapeutics, the clinical affiliate of the Lupus Research Alliance, that comprises over 60+ top clinical research institutions, 250+ clinical investigators, and reaches more than 160,000-175,000 people with lupus.  

This year marked the meeting’s sixth year and took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The meeting was led by LuCIN leadership – Lupus Research Alliance President & CEO Albert T. Roy; Saira Sheikh, MD, LuCIN Chair; and Roberto Caricchio, MD, LuCIN Vice Chair – and focused on integrating clinical trials into day-to-day clinical care. 

Highlights and key speakers included:  

• Patient perspectives from Brittan Kopittke, who has undergone CAR-T cell therapy in a clinical trial, and Mary Jo Kean, a patient advocate in Lupus Therapeutics’ Patient Advocates for Lupus Studies (PALS) program 
• Innovation in research led by Daniele Bertolini, PhD, Principal Scientist at Unlearn.AI, exploring how artificial intelligence could transform the clinical trials landscape – moderated by Paul Fortin, MD, CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center 
• Industry insights gleaned from selected abstracts from EMD Serono, Biogen, Cabaletta Bio, Hinge Bio, Autolus, and Genentech, sharing progress in lupus therapies 
• Scientific deep dives including patient-reported outcomes with Zahi Touma, MD, PhD, University of Toronto, moderated by Meenakshi Jolly, MD, Rush University Medical Center; and B-cell depletion strategies with Andrew C. Chan, MD, PhD, The Column Group, moderated by Shaun Jackson, MD, PhD, Seattle Children’s Hospital 

Patient advocate Mary Jo Kean shares her personal journey with lupus and clinical trials.  

A major component of the meeting included cross-collaborative breakout sessions, bringing people together to explore challenges and opportunities in making clinical trials part of routine care. 

Key themes echoed through the presentations included: 

• Addressing barriers to access for diverse communities 
• Developing easy-to-use educational tools for patients and clinical site coordinators 
• Strengthening industry partnerships 
• Elevating the voices of people living with lupus 

Attendees onsite discuss areas of opportunity for clinical trials as a standard part of lupus care.  

“This meeting is one of the only opportunities that brings together researchers, industry members, and patients who are really trying to work together to improve clinical trials and outcomes,” Erika Reyna, a PAL in attendance, said. “We are making progress! There is a dedicated group of people working together to find treatments that work better and we’re including patients so that all of this research is inclusive and more meaningful.”  

The Community Meeting was support by sponsors: Adicet Bio, Alumis, Amgen, AstraZenca, Aurinia, Autolus, Beeline Medicines, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cabaletta Bio, CRISPR Therapeutics, Cullinan Therapeutics, Duality Bio, DxTerity, EMD Serono, Fate Therapeutics, Genentech, Gilead, GSK, Hinge Bio, Johnson & Johnson, LifeBit, Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Sanofi, Syneos, UCB, and Zenas BioPharma. 

The 2027 Community Meeting will be held from April 29-May 1, 2027, in Atlanta, Georgia. If you are interested in learning more about the meeting, attending, or sponsoring, please reach out to: lupustherapeutics@lupusresearch.org.  

Photos by Bobby Burdock Photography