GAI Driving Results: Seven Years of Impact
Introduction
Since focusing its resources on the challenges of autoimmune diseases in 2015, the Global Autoimmune Institute has devoted leadership and financial support to an impressive array of initiatives and programs, several of which are groundbreaking in the medical community.
An essential partner in much of our work has been the Children’s National Hospital (CNH) in Washington, DC. This partnership grew out of our Executive Director’s work as a member of the Advisory Board of the Celiac Group. Together, we shared a drive to achieve several goals, including:
- to raise awareness in the medical community of many unrecognized symptoms
- to support and educate patients and their families living with celiac disease
- to improve diagnoses of co-existing autoimmune diseases and neurological disorders by promoting a multidisciplinary approach in medicine, and in particular in celiac disease, the one autoimmune disease with an identified cause.
- to promote an added focus on celiac disease and commonalities with other autoimmune diseases in science
- to improve diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease
- to hear and validate the experiences of those on their journey to obtain accurate diagnoses and treatment of their autoimmune diseases
As the Institute’s knowledge grew, it became clear that a broad scope of work was necessary to address the complex issues involved in autoimmune disease. This underpins our current focus on five key areas:
- Expanding and strengthening the community of those affected by a range of autoimmune disorders in addition to celiac disease.
- Developing and disseminating reliable, informative, and in-depth educational resources, shared widely at no cost.
- Funding and promoting scientific research to further unravel the mysteries confounding successful diagnosis and treatment.
- Promoting multidisciplinary approaches to diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases and disorders, including neurological.
- Informing and engaging future leaders in the public health field to improve the future of diagnosis, treatment, community services, and support for autoimmune disease patients and their families.
The Global Autoimmune Institute (GAI) believes that our leadership, work, and funding, had an outsized impact in causing changes in the field of celiac disease, and by extension, in autoimmune disease. We have been an essential part of the powerful new movement to improve the lives of those with autoimmune diseases including celiac disease. The way the community thinks about and understands symptoms treats patients, and researches connections to other autoimmune diseases are radically different from just six years ago. We are proud to share this summary of our work and a glimpse into GAI’s priorities for the next decade.