Building research infrastructure and supporting workforce development.
While collecting input from the community, the institute identified several needs that may not be amenable to being pursued through discrete research projects but are nonetheless relevant to advancing knowledge of and treatments for people who have arthritis or who have musculoskeletal or skin diseases. The priorities listed here, along with the examples, reflect some of those needs based on the state-of-the-science as the Plan was being developed. Text boxes describe existing resources in support of these priorities. Inclusion of these priorities, examples, and resources documents their importance to the institute and can serve as a starting point for efforts to address the opportunities.
Research Infrastructure
Biomedical innovations hold synergistic potential capable of being leveraged throughout the research landscape. NIAMS supports the development and validation of technologies, models, and methods that can enable multiple advances to be made in the areas of bone, joint, muscle, rheumatic and systemic autoimmune, and skin diseases and orthopaedics research.
Interdisciplinary Research, Team Science, and Partnerships
Collaboration is a key priority, and the institute supports several partnership programs to accelerate research, raise awareness of research activities, and provide health care services to clinical studies for people affected by diseases covered by the NIAMS mission.
Training and Workforce
Attracting and maintaining a robust scientific workforce is critical to advancing understanding of bone, joint, muscle, rheumatic, systemic autoimmune, and skin diseases as well as orthopaedics. NIAMS is committed to strengthening support for early and mid-career investigators to ensure a robust mentorship structure and a continuous pathway for researchers dedicated to the diseases and disorders within the NIAMS mission.
