This past June marked the eighth anniversary of Erna Baird’s passing on June 6, 2011, due to complications from Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (GPA)(formerly Wegener’s Granulomatosis), and the establishment of The Erna Baird Memorial Grant (EBMG), in loving memory of a devoted, loving, and cherished wife, mother, and grandmother. The EBMG is assisting to push the boundaries of discovery, advancing the search for medical answers for this rare and too often fatal vasculitic disease.

This important grant has already enabled significant medical developments through its support of Dr. Katherine Siminovitch – a renowned geneticist/rheumatologist and international leader in the field of autoimmune disorders at University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. It continues to enable research, make discoveries and provide a glimpse on future solutions to autoimmune diseases.

This unique, and important, work initiated almost 19 years ago, has also been the recipient of research funds from Vasculitis Foundation Canada, the Vasculitis Foundation and others.  Equally important to the success of this research has been the long-term partnering of researchers and patients in a relationship that hopes to advance diagnostic testing, targeted and individualized treatments, and research towards a cure.  To read the full report click here.