Overview
The Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases (AMP® AIM) launched in 2021 to deepen our understanding of the cellular and molecular interactions that lead to inflammation and autoimmune diseases. In autoimmune diseases, the body’s immune response is excessive and long-lasting, often causing persistent damage to multiple tissues and organ systems. AMP AIM investigators focus their research on rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and Sjögren’s disease. The knowledge gained through these studies will advance the development of new and enhanced treatments for autoimmune diseases. In addition, AMP AIM will drive the development of new research tools, data storage platforms, and data sharing technologies.
AMP AIM builds on and broadens an earlier investment known as the AMP RA/SLE (or RA/Lupus) program. Both AMP AIM and AMP RA/SLE are components of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) that was created in 2014 as a collaborative effort between NIH, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pharmaceutical companies, and nonprofit organizations. AMP AIM is managed through the Foundation for the NIH, with support from NIAMS, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), and thirteen public and private partners.
Approach
Although autoimmune diseases are highly complex and variable, they share common inflammatory pathways. AMP AIM investigators seek to identify and define these shared pathways—as well as the cellular and molecular factors that are unique to specific diseases.
The earlier AMP RA/SLE program focused on understanding specific cells and molecules that play a role in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. AMP AIM extends this single-cell, disease deconstruction approach to additional autoimmune diseases. AMP AIM will also leverage novel, high-dimensional, research tools to uncover cellular interactions that cause inflammation, injury, abnormal function, and clinical disease (disease reconstruction). In particular, the program will examine interactions involving cells in disease-relevant tissues and cells in the innate and adaptive immune systems.
Funding Opportunities [now expired] and Funded Projects
AIM-for-RA
PI(s): Jennifer H. Anolik, M.D., Ph.D., University of Rochester; Laura T. Donlin, Ph.D., Hospital for Special Surgery; and Larry W. Moreland, M.D., University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Lupus Omics Cutaneous Kidney Investigative Team (LOCKIT)
PI(s): Jill P. Buyon, M.D., New York University School of Medicine; Michelle A. Petri, M.D., M.P.H., Johns Hopkins University; Brad H. Rovin, M.D., Ohio State University; and Victoria P. Werth, M.D., University of Pennsylvania
ELLIPSS: ELucidating the Landscape of Immunoendotypes in Psoriatic Skin and Synovium
PI(s): Christopher T. Ritchlin, M.D., M.P.H., University of Rochester; Johann E. Gudjonsson, M.D., Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Wilson Liao, M.D., University of California, San Francisco; and Jose U. Scher, M.D., New York University School of Medicine
Sjögren’s Team for Accelerating Medicines Partnership (STAMP)
PI(s): Caroline H. Shiboski, D.D.S, M.P.H., Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco; Alan N. Baer, M.D., Johns Hopkins University; A. Darise Farris, Ph.D., Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation; and Blake M. Warner, D.D.S., Ph.D., M.P.H., National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Single Cell and Spatial Genomic Analyses of Specimens From Patients With Autoimmune Diseases (Technology Core)
PI(s): Michael B. Brenner, M.D., Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and Nir Hacohen, Ph.D., Broad Institute, Inc.
Immunogenomics and Systems Biology Core
PI(s): Johann E. Gudjonsson, M.D., Ph.D., Lam Cheung Tsoi, Ph.D., Joshua Welch, Ph.D., and Xiang Zhou, Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Accelerating Medicines Partnership-Autoimmune and Immunologic Disease Tissue Research Core
PI(s): Joel M. Guthridge, Ph.D., and Judith A. James, M.D., Ph.D., Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Integrative Analysis of High Dimensional Tissue Molecular Data to Define Key Biological Systems in Autoimmune Diseases (SBC)
PI(s): Soumya Raychaudhuri, M.D., Ph.D., Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Micro-TeACH (Microbiome Technology and Analytic Center Hub)
PI(s): Jose U. Scher, M.D., and Adriana Heguy, Ph.D., New York University School of Medicine; and Jose Clemente, Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Related Information
- NIAMS Director's Letter: New Pilot Program Will Mentor Leaders and Advance Women's Health
- NIAMS Involvement in the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP)
- NIAMS Director's Letter: Amping Up Our Investment in Autoimmune Disease Research
- AMP AIM entry in NIH’s AMP pages.
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) news release.
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the AMP AIM funding opportunities.
- Recording of the Special NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting (November 18, 2021). During this meeting, Council members accepted the findings and recommendations of the AMP AIM Council Working Group about how to structure the program.
- Slides from Pre-Application Webinar (May 5, 2021) that describe the program’s proposed goals, structure, review process, and expected 5-year deliverables. Note: aspects of the program have evolved since this webinar.
Project Structure
Accelerating Medicines Partnership and AMP are registered service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.