Overview
Senior Investigator
Clinical Director
Robert A. Colbert, M.D., Ph.D.
The Clinical Research Programs at NIAMS conducts patient-based investigation in the areas of rheumatic, skin, muscular and inflammatory diseases, and train the next generation of physician-scientists and clinician-investigators in these areas. As part of the NIH intramural research program, the program is uniquely positioned to perform clinical and translational studies in the NIH Clinical Center, the world’s largest hospital and outpatient facility devoted exclusively to clinical investigation. The NIAMS has a long and successful history of clinical investigation into the pathogenesis and treatment of rheumatic diseases dating back to the 1960’s, with emphases on systemic lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory muscle disease, and hereditary periodic fever syndromes, now recognized to be part of the spectrum of autoinflammatory diseases, a term coined at NIH. These studies stem from the interests of the clinical and basic investigators in the Institute as well as through aligning with the strengths of the NIH Clinical Center, including the study of rare diseases, innovative proof-of concept (PoC) clinical trials, and longitudinal clinical studies.
The NIAMS clinical research program, in partnership with other NIH intramural research programs, currently focuses its research in the areas of autoinflammatory diseases, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, spondylarthropathies, outcomes research, vasculitis, myositis, and selected bone and dermatological diseases.
Translational Research: The Bridge Between Basic Research and Clinical Disease
A goal of clinical investigation is to bridge information gained from laboratory research with that afforded by clinical experience. Carefully designed observational and interventional studies provide opportunities to verify basic biological understanding of disease. These studies then bring back to the laboratory new insights into the normal functioning of the organ and cellular systems underlying human health and disease.
Training Programs
The NIAMS Clinical Research Program includes ACGME-certified Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program, a joint Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship Program with Childrens’ National Medical Center in Washington, DC, and Advanced basic, translational clinical research training in Rheumatology and Dermatology through the NIAMS Scholars in Translational Research Program.
NIAMS Community Health Clinic
In addition to its disease-focused clinical research programs, NIAMS operates a community health clinic which provides specialist care and screening for participation in clinical research studies for underserved patients in the local area with serious rheumatological conditions. The clinic is located on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
Contact Us
Core Research Facilities
Labs at the NIAMS are supported by the following state-of-the-art facilities and services:
Staff
Clinical Trials
The Clinical Program is engaged in several observational studies to understand the natural history of several rheumatic diseases and to test therapeutic interventions. For more information or to access a Protocol, please search the database of clinical studies being conducted at the NIH Clinical Center.
Ankylosing Spondylitis and Spondylarthritis
Autoimmune Diseases
Viral infections such as COVID-19 may lead to flare-ups in people with systemic autoimmune diseases (SAD). These infections may also change the function of their immune system and/or cause problems with their blood vessels. Researchers want to learn how people with SAD respond to treatments or vaccines for COVID-19. The objective of this study is to understand how COVID-19 affects inflammation, the immune system, and blood vessels in adults and children with autoimmune diseases.
Juvenile Arthritis
Inflammatory conditions can cause symptoms like fevers, arthritis, and rash. Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) is one of these conditions. So is adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD). Their causes are unknown. Researchers want to learn more about these conditions. This includes genetic changes and environmental factors.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Lupus)
This study admits patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The goal is to identify clinical subsets of patient that might aid in understanding progress and determining appropriate therapies.
This protocol will evaluate patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their relatives to learn more about how the disease develops and changes over time. It will also study genetic factors that make a person susceptible to SLE.
Patients with Lupus have an increased risk of developing heart attacks and stroke due to hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). By examining how your blood vessels function and whether they are damaged and by comparing these tests to those of patients without Lupus, we will be able to better understand what triggers this complication in lupus and hopefully identify potential strategies to prevent this damage. During this study, it is possible that we will obtain an unanticipated finding about your health during the imaging studies.
Rheumatic Diseases
This study will examine families in which one sibling of a sibling pair, or twin pair, has developed a systemic rheumatic disease and one has not, to see if and how the two differ in: blood cell metabolism, types of cells in the blood, or environmental exposures or genetic factors that might explain why one developed disease and the other did not.
Sjögrens Syndrome
Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease that often involves multiple organs of the body. The disease primarily affects females and manifests as inflammation and destruction of glands leading to dryness of mouth, eyes, skin, throat, and vagina. Additionally, patients may experience profound fatigue, widespread muscle pain, and swollen and painful joints. Researchers are trying to find new, more effective, and safe treatments for SS. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of tofacitinib, an oral janus kinase inhibitor, in people with SS.
Vasculitis
Vasculitis is a group of diseases that inflame and damage blood vessels and tissue. It can cause many medical problems. Few tests can diagnose the disease, and none can reliably predict a relapse. Researchers want to study people's genes and follow people over time to see how the disease affects them. The objective of this clinical trial is to learn the signs, symptoms, imaging tests, genetic markers, and blood tests that can help identify people with vasculitis and predict what will happen to them over time.
Researchers want to study people's genes and follow people over time to see how the disease affects them. People age 5 and older who have or are thought to have vasculitis, or are related to someone with it, are eligible. Healthy volunteers are also eligible.
Health Disparities
This study is designed to address the differences in clinical manifestations and severity of rheumatologic disease in African-Americans and Hispanic individuals.
Healthy Volunteers
We are examining how blood vessels function and how these vessels damaged due to lupus disease activities. We compare the data to see what the blood vessels should be as healthy person such as you but due to the Lupus disease activities how it changed compare to a healthy volunteer on the same age and gender. During this study, it is possible that we will obtain an unanticipated finding about your health during the imaging studies. An example of an unanticipated finding would be a nodule, abnormality, or cancer in your colon, lungs, or other areas of your body seen on the imaging studies.
Adults and children with dermatomyositis or polymyositis who are within one year of diagnosis are potentially eligible for this study. The goal is to evaluate environmental factors that may be important to illness onset in myositis patients with certain autoantibodies (such as Jo1) compared to those without these autoantibodies and to healthy control subjects. The study involves patient questionnaires, blood testing, a vacuum dust sample, and a physician evaluation.
The immune system defends the body against bacteria and other harmful invaders. But it can overact and attack healthy cells by mistake. The group of drugs called glucocorticoids (GCs) can calm down an overactive immune system. But they often cause negative side effects. Researchers want to learn how human genes respond to GCs. Genes live inside each cell of the body. They tell our cells how to function. Researchers hope the results of this study will show them how to develop better drugs that will have the benefits of GCs without the side effects.
Blood components will be collected using apheresis from normal volunteers and patients with rheumatic diseases. Mononuclear cells and plasma will be used by various investigators for research studies.
Researchers want to study people's genes and follow people over time to see how the disease affects them. People age 5 and older who have or are thought to have vasculitis, or are related to someone with it, are eligible. Healthy volunteers are also eligible.
Immunodeficiency
This study is to identify the genetic basis for immunodeficiencies in patients for whom the genetic basis is unknown. The goal is to identify genes important in the immune system regulation which are mutated or defective in patient with primary immunodeficiencies.
Melorheostosis
The rare disease melorheostosis causes bones to thicken. This may lead to pain, and can affect bones, joints, and muscles. Researchers want to learn more about the disease and how it progresses. All eligible patients are invited to participate in this protocol. Patients are adults aged 18 years or older with possible melorheostosis (suspected or confirmed).
Myositis
This study admits patient with polymyositis, dermatomyositis and other muscle diseases. The goal is to understand the progression of these diseases.
This study enrolls patients with adult and juvenile dermatomyositis and polymyositis primarily. Patients generally only enroll if enrolling in another NIEHS study protocol. This study provides a thorough disease evaluation, including blood testing and imaging studies. Goals of the study include examination of genetic and environmental risk factors for myositis and natural history of the disease. (Contact: Adult patient referrals: Dr. Adam Schiffenbauer at schiffenbauera2@niehs.nih.gov; Pediatric patient referrals: Dr.
Adults and children with dermatomyositis or polymyositis who are within one year of diagnosis are potentially eligible for this study. The goal is to evaluate environmental factors that may be important to illness onset in myositis patients with certain autoantibodies (such as Jo1) compared to those without these autoantibodies and to healthy control subjects. The study involves patient questionnaires, blood testing, a vacuum dust sample, and a physician evaluation.
Systemic Arthritis and Autoinflammation
This study aims to identify genetic and immunologic factors that contribute to sJIA/AOSD and related conditions and to determine their implications on inflammatory pathophysiology. By doing so, we hope to identify novel therapeutic targets for inflammatory disease.