Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences in Autoimmunity

ComponentAutoimmune diseases comprise a large set of disorders that together afflict almost 50 million Americans; four out of five patients with autoimmunity are women. The mission of the Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences in Autoimmunity (SCORE-X) is to serve as a national resource in understanding sex as a biological variable in autoimmunity. SCORE-X has three objectives. Objective 1 is to drive innovation and intellectual leadership of sex biased autoimmunity. Human organoids and spatial proteomics will be employed to dissect the newly recognized role of female-specific XIST RNA protein complex in driving autoimmunity. Objective 2 is to enable translational interdisciplinary advance of sex-biased autoimmunity, focusing on the diagnostic and prognostic opportunities from the recent discovery of anti-XIST RNP antibodies in patients with autoimmune diseases. Objective 3 is to enhance collaborative, and research educational opportunities. SCORE-X will create and coordinate research projects, pilot programs, and educational programs to support the SCORE consortium, and broadly disseminate new insights, technologies, and resources developed at SCORE-X. SCORE-X will promote training and education in sex differences in autoimmunity through the establishment of a Pilot grant program for early stage investigators and integrated educational program along the entire training pipeline. The end result will be a national resource for transformative advance in the mechanistic understanding, clinical translation, and educational opportunities for sex differences in autoimmunity.