Director’s Message

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I am excited to present the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2025–2029. The goals and priorities listed in this document reflect a multi-year effort involving input from numerous researchers, patients, and members of the NIAMS Coalition. We are grateful to all who participated in the development process.

Arthritis, musculoskeletal, and skin conditions affect people of all ages and racial and ethnic backgrounds. Combined, they affect tens of millions of Americans, cause tremendous human suffering and disability, and cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars in health care costs and lost productivity. Through this Plan, NIAMS aims both to foster an adaptable research environment that enables investigators to leverage scientific knowledge and powerful technologies, and to stimulate research in new, transformative areas as they arise. Discoveries made through these efforts will, in turn, enable people of any background or socioeconomic status to live longer and healthier lives.

The new Plan differs significantly from previous NIAMS Plans by emphasizing overarching scientific themes of interest and opportunity instead of providing a detailed list of topics that NIAMS is willing to support. It reflects the recommendations from members of the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Council (NAMSAC) regarding the development of previous Plans, such as the importance of acknowledging the enormous progress that the research community has made during the last five years and having a bold, ambitious vision for advancing the NIAMS mission over the next half-decade.

As we reflected on the needs and opportunities articulated by the community as we sought input on the new Plan’s contents, we realized that the ideas we were hearing fit into four overarching goals:

1.  Advancing therapy development for everyone by identifying human biological, behavioral, and environmental factors that affect health, disease, and the patient experience and testing interventions in people with arthritis, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases.
2. Fostering discoveries to improve human health by developing resources, including relevant preclinical models, unbiased clinical data, and computational biology approaches.
3. Supporting necessary infrastructure and a robust research workforce capable of conducting all types of studies, including interdisciplinary research and team science.
4. Communicating timely and relevant advances to patients, communities, and scientists.

These goals have the advantage of being sufficiently broad and adaptable to allow us to pivot toward new research directions as they emerge over the next five years.

By contrast, the priorities and examples featured in this Plan highlight resounding themes gleaned from community input that are relevant today, but we also recognize that new opportunities may arise as progress is made. Therefore, while the stated priorities can serve as guideposts, we will continue to search for the best, most innovative ideas as we develop our roadmap for the remainder of the decade and beyond.

My intention when joining the institute in 2021 was to develop a Strategic Plan that reflected broad public input about the potential and promise of NIAMS-funded biomedical research. I hope that the new Plan meets this goal and will inspire all who have an interest in the institute’s mission—whether researchers, study participants, patients, or the public. We encourage you to refer to this Plan often and share it broadly with your colleagues.

Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc.   
Director, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases