Golf Tournament Aims to Advance URMC Lupus Research

A golf tournament set for Monday, Aug. 15, aims to raise funds for groundbreaking lupus research underway at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC).

Chaired by Rochesterian Frank Formicola, the event is in its tenth year and has raised tens of thousands of dollars to help individuals battling the autoimmune disease.

The 4-person scramble-style competition begins with a 10 a.m. shotgun start (9 a.m. check-in/registration) at Lima Golf and Country Club, 2681 Plank Road, Lima. Cost to participate is $89 per entrant, which includes lunch at the turn, greens fees, a cart, free soda, wine and beer at the tenth tee, dinner, and a chance to watch Rochester’s own comedian and magician, Sky Sands, in a late afternoon performance.

Lupus affects as many as two million people nationwide; 90 percent of are women, who are most often stricken in their childbearing years. While most people find it to be controllable – experiencing fatigue, joint pain, or rashes, for instance, but otherwise managing well between medicine and consistent monitoring by their doctors – a smaller set of patients suffer a more extreme disease course, sometimes facing life-threatening complications.

Lupus is a key focus of URMC’s Autoimmune Center of Excellence, one of only nine research hubs nationwide funded by the National Institutes of Health to explore the underpinnings of autoimmune diseases. URMC rheumatologists not only treat 400 lupus patients throughout Western New York – they’re also chasing down some of the nation’s most promising treatments, as well as uncovering key clues into how the disease unfolds.

To register for the tournament, call Frank Formicola at 585-303-0323. For more information on lupus, visit http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/medicine/allergy/patients-families/lupus-clinic.cfm.