“My sons, Grant and Zack, share in my hope that these awards created in honor of Lulie will help talented researchers find answers and help reduce suffering for people with rheumatoid arthritis.” —GORDON GUND

Lovingly known as Lulie, Llura Gund spent decades effecting positive changes in society alongside her husband, Gordon, and their sons, Grant and Zack.

Gordon credits Lulie with helping him survive and thrive after he became blind in 1970. The couple excelled professionally—successes that fueled numerous philanthropic endeavors for decades.

After Lulie’s passing in March 2020, Gordon—a trustee of the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation—paid tribute to Lulie by establishing a research award program in her name at the Brigham with a $5 million gift from the foundation.

For many years, Lulie contended with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune and inflammatory disease that attacks the joints and causes significant pain and swelling. Her doctor and friend, Michael Weinblatt, MD, the Brigham’s codirector of clinical rheumatology, led her care.

With the foundation’s gift, Weinblatt created the Llura Gund Awards in Rheumatology Research and Care. This new program will invest in the brightest researchers at all career stages who seek to expand insights into RA and further treatment options.

“When I asked Dr. Weinblatt how our family could make a difference in RA, he said that innovative research has the best potential to bring about better treatments and a higher quality of life for patients,” Gordon says. “My sons, Grant and Zack, share in my hope that these awards created in honor of Lulie will help talented researchers find answers and help reduce suffering for people with rheumatoid arthritis.”

The foundation’s gift represents the family’s latest show of support for the Brigham’s Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity. Over the years, their giving has included helping to establish the Michael E. Weinblatt, MD, Distinguished Chair in Clinical Rheumatology in 2016.

“This new gift from the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation is transformational,” Weinblatt says. “The Gund family’s extraordinary support enables research that will lead to a greater understanding of the disease process and accelerate our research in this disease. We are truly honored to establish the Llura Gund Awards as a long-lasting tribute to Lulie. Her tremendous spirit and compassion for others inspire our work every day.”