FSR Announces $400,000 Investment in New Round of Cardiac and Pilot Grant Awards to Drive Breakthroughs in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sarcoidosis

CHICAGO, Jan. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) has awarded four grants in the amount of $100,000 each to Dr. Christen Vagts from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Dr. Chieh-Yu Lin from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis – both Members of the FSR Global Sarcoidosis Clinic Alliance - Dr. Vivienne Kahlmann from Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, and Dr. Nisha Gilotra from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Gilotra and Dr. Lin were each awarded $100k through FSR’s Cardiac Sarcoidosis Grant program, and Dr. Kahlmann and Dr. Vagts each received $100k through FSR’s Pilot Grant program. This funding supports early-stage research projects that show significant potential to drive meaningful progress in sarcoidosis diagnosis, treatment, and patient care. These awards build on FSR’s rapidly growing grants portfolio and are intended to generate the early data, tools, and collaborations needed to transform sarcoidosis care worldwide.

Dr. Vagt’s project, Monocyte Dysregulation as a Driver of Fibrotic Progression in Sarcoidosis, focuses on circulating monocytes, a type of immune cell found in the blood. She will study how monocytes behave differently in patients with sarcoidosis and help doctors recognize which patients are most at risk for fibrosis (scarring) of the lung and other organs.

“I am grateful for this award as it allows me to build on the progress made through my previous FSR-supported work and continue pursuing the questions that matter most to my patients with fibrotic pulmonary sarcoidosis,” says Dr. Vagts. “By leveraging existing data, I am working to uncover the immune circuits that contribute to fibrotic progression and generate a clearer framework for how this disease evolves. This pilot funding provides critical momentum toward translating those insights into future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for a community with few effective options.”

Dr. Kahlmann’s project, High-resolution computer tomography phenotypes and their correlation with pulmonary function and treatment response in pulmonary sarcoidosis, will use data from the PREDMETH trial, the largest sarcoidosis treatment study in patients who had not received treatment. In this study, she will test CT scans collected in the PREDMETH trial to understand whether the different sarcoidosis subtypes are linked to lung function and treatment response. Dr. Kahlmann hopes to identify imaging markers that enable more personalized treatment decisions and improve care for people living with sarcoidosis.

“We are grateful that the FSR has honored our grant proposal,” said Dr. Kahlmann. “By analyzing HR-CT phenotypes and evaluating their associations with lung function and treatment response, this study aims to support treatment decisions and advance personalized care in sarcoidosis. This research is a collaborative project, thanks to the contributions of co-applicants: Rémy Mostard, Marcel Veltkamp, Karen Moor, and Marlies Wijsenbeek.”

Dr. Gilotra’s project, Multidimensional Phenotypic Stratification in Cardiac Sarcoidosis: A Machine Learning and Patient-Centered Approach to Clarifying Disease Heterogeneity, will build off prior work that identified differences in how patients experience cardiac sarcoidosis, and use artificial intelligence to predict arrhythmia and other outcomes using cardiac images. Dr. Gilotra will incorporate patient perspectives on their disease status with clinical data to better define subgroups of cardiac sarcoidosis and predict who will experience organ involvement, treatment response, and symptoms or cardiac events.

"This funding will allow us to better phenotype cardiac sarcoidosis, a heterogeneous and poorly understood complication of sarcoidosis that is life threatening for our patients,” said Dr. Gilotra. “We are immensely grateful for this opportunity to apply novel strategies to the investigation of to whom, when and how sarcoidosis develops in the heart, and what it means for our patients' trajectory."

Dr. Lin’s project, Molecular Imaging to Measure Disease Activity and Predict Treatment Response in Cardiac Sarcoidosis, will investigate a specific marker of inflammation (CCR2) in cardiac sarcoidosis. She believes this can be utilized to better diagnose and monitor patients by testing a CCR2-specific PET imaging tracer that has been used safely in human studies for other disease conditions.

“Cardiac sarcoidosis is a disease very close to my heart as a cardiothoracic pathologist,” said Dr. Lin. “However, it is so challenging to diagnose despite our best efforts. This grant will enable me to work with an excellent multidisciplinary team to improve the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy for cardiac sarcoidosis patients, and I am grateful to have this opportunity.”

“Each of these projects was selected because it has the potential to shift what is possible for people living with sarcoidosis,” said Mary McGowan, President and CEO at FSR. “By focusing on cardiac sarcoidosis and high‑impact pilot studies, these awards will not only improve how we diagnose and treat this complex disease today, but also lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s clinical trials, targeted therapies, and personalized care strategies.”

Through strategic investments in cardiac sarcoidosis and pilot research, FSR is shaping the future of sarcoidosis science by accelerating discovery, de-risking clinical trials, and advancing better diagnostics and treatments for patients. FSR has invested nearly $10 million in innovative sarcoidosis research to date. To learn more about FSR’s funding opportunities, visit https://www.stopsarcoidosis.org/fsr-grants/.

About Sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis is a rare inflammatory disease characterized by granulomas—tiny clumps of inflammatory cells—that can form in one or more organs. 90% of patients living with sarcoidosis have lung involvement. Despite advances in research, sarcoidosis remains challenging to diagnose, with limited treatment options and no known cure. Approximately 175,000 people live with sarcoidosis in the United States.

About the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research
The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) is the leading international organization dedicated to finding a cure for sarcoidosis and improving care for those living with the disease through research, education, and support. For more information about FSR and its community programs, visit: www.stopsarcoidosis.org.

Media Contact:
Cathi Davis, Director of Communications and Marketing
Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research
312-341-0500
cathi@stopsarcoidosis.org

An image accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4db9c789-7722-4b81-8df6-376ad177c83c

2025 FSR Research Grant Awardees

Congratulations to the 2025 Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research Grant Awardees

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