Lupus Ontario committed $150,000 to fund the start-up and first 2 years of operations of the Lupus Ontario Anne Matheson Biobank at McMaster University. The project was led by Dr. Konstantinos Tselios, Assistant Professor with the Division of Rheumatology, and aims to collect demographic, clinical, laboratory and therapeutic data from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus attending the clinic on a longitudinal basis. It will also collect biosamples (including serum, plasma, DNA and urine) from the patients to facilitate basic and clinical research in the field.
The Biobank has been successfully implemented and is now collecting samples which the team feels will be critical to future research.
Anne Matheson is passionate about the need for support and factual information for lupus patients and their families and has put in years of contribution towards the Lupus Society of Hamilton and Lupus Ontario. While Anne stepped back from her duties with Lupus Ontario in 2014, her legacy will live on through the establishment of the Lupus Ontario Anne Matheson Biobank at McMaster University in Hamilton.
