Background
Established in 1977, the UAB Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Center (AMC) is one
of the first comprehensive arthritis research centers in the nation supported
by the NIH's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
(NIAMS). The Center is the only such center in the country that has maintained
continuous and competitive funding by NIAMS in both clinical/translational research
and fundamental biomedical research. It is also one of the few Centers of its
kind to gain support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The more than 180
Center members, with extramural funding exceeding $80 million annually, represent
eight schools including Medicine, Dentistry, Engineering, Health Professions,
Nursing, Optometry, Public Health, and Social and Behavioral Sciences, as well
as the Joint Health Sciences.
The AMC is based in UAB's
Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. In each of the past 15 years,
according to the U.S. News and World Report, UAB's Division of Clinical
Immunology and Rheumatology has been ranked as the University's most highly
regarded clinical program, currently 6th nationally. Nine of the Division's
faculty (Drs. Alarcon, Bridges, Chatham, Fessler, Heck, Kimberly, Koopman, Moreland,
and Saag) have been recognized in the latest edition of "Top Doctors in
the USA." Thirteen additional AMC members have earned similar recognition
(Atkinson, Schroeder, Jr., Ness, Elmets, Elson, Allman, Sorscher, Cuckler, McDonald,
Hagood, Howard, Schelonka, and Bonner). In November, 2006, the Division was
selected by the American College of Rheumatology as one of three programs nationwide
to host European Union scientists for the ACR-EULAR exchange.
Center Research
A UAB University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Center, the AMC serves as the
focal point for fundamental and clinical research in arthritis, autoimmunity,
and musculoskeletal diseases and is dedicated to generating and applying new
knowledge to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with rheumatic disease.
It is designated as one of the international Federation of Clinical Immunology
Societies' (FOCIS) "Centers of Excellence" in addition to being a
nationally top-ranked, peer-reviewed recipient of an Autoimmunity Center of
Excellence (ACE) award from the NIH/NIAID. The UAB AMC hosts the only rheumatology
unit in the nation to have both a Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center
(MCRC) and Rheumatic Disease Core Center (RDCC) funded by the NIH. The MCRC
and RDCC support several lines of established research in addition to multiple
core facilities and innovative pilot projects. Over the past four years, 67
investigators from 6 schools and Joint Health Sciences have been directly supported
through the Center's biomedical, clinical health services, and outcomes research
project grants and cores.
The AMC has a commitment
to create an effective multidisciplinary environment that supports fundamental
and clinical research. Members of the AMC are organized into workgroups based
on the nature of their research. These workgroups include Neurobehavioral Medicine;
Prevention, Outcomes, and Rehabilitation (POR); Experimental Therapeutics; Genetics
and Functional Genomics; Immunology and Autoimmunity; and Bone and Cartilage
Biology. Several AMC-sponsored, state-of-the-art research core facilities support
such ongoing investigation. These include a Pain and Analgesia Assessment Module,
Methodology, Epitope Recognition and Immunoreagent, Analytic and Preparative
Core Facility, High-Resolution Imaging Facility, Gene Targeting Core Facility.
In addition, the AMC has direct involvement with the Pittman Molecular Genetics,
Heflin Genomics, and Recombinant Inbred Mice cores.
The Center also has an
international reputation for its emphasis on patient-oriented translational
research - advancing the use of novel, state-of-the-art diagnostics and therapeutics.
Key to this capability is the Arthritis Clinical Intervention Program under
the direction of Drs. Moreland and Turkiewicz. This program, one of the most
productive academic clinical investigational programs in arthritis and musculoskeletal
diseases in the country, has focused on the investigation of biologic agents
in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
The Clinical Intervention Program played a national leadership role in the demonstration
of the efficacy of soluble TNF-receptor in the treatment of RA. Notable achievements
have included the use of needle arthroscopy in the investigation of the pathogenesis
of RA, the use of monoclonal antibodies for treatment of RA, and the first use
of peptide vaccines directed against DR4 in RA. These studies have been logical
extensions of fundamental investigations conducted by Center investigators which
have served to link DR4 with susceptibility to RA and implicated TNF in the
pathogenesis of chronic synovial inflammation. Additionally, the establishment
of an Infusion Therapy Center in The Kirklin Clinic has allowed for improved
treatment of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel
disease, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE),
and multiple sclerosis with novel therapeutics.
The UAB AMC has a model
record of academic and pharmaceutical R&D partnerships. The Treatment of
Early Aggressive Rheumatoid Arthritis study (TEAR) is a multi-center national
clinical trial, with support from academia and industry, to identify the most
advantageous timing and combination of treatment for RA patients. The continued
operation of the UAB/SANKYO Program for Rheumatic Diseases and Cancer Research
is additional evidence of the achievement of the Center in successfully interfacing
fundamental and clinical investigation to generate productive interdisciplinary
translational research. These and related partnerships were established based
on the AMC's reputation for leading successful interdisciplinary research collaborations
in genetics, molecular biology, bioinformatics, translational, and clinical
research.
Recent achievements of the
UAB AMC:
UAB's AMC plays a national
role in clinical research and provides the leadership for multiple national
patient databases including: LUMINA, CLEAR, and the WGGER Repository. The Center
also hosts the only rheumatology unit in the nation to spearhead a multi-institutional
national consortium on the genetics of SLE. It also supports the Osteoporosis
Prevention and Treatment Clinic, lead by Dr. Sarah Morgan, which offers treatment
and prevention of osteoporosis through coordinated patient care, professional
and lay education, and clinical bone-related research.
Training and Education
The UAB Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Center is dedicated to academic excellence
in training the next generation of investigators. The NIH-sponsored Training
Program in Rheumatic Diseases Research supports several pre- and post-doctoral
fellows, most of whom go on to pursue academic and industry research careers.
The AMC also strives to educate the surrounding community through outreach programs.
It has the only AHRQ-funded Center for Education Research in Therapeutics (CERTs)
in Musculoskeletal Diseases. This program aims to evaluate the effectiveness,
safety, impact on health and related quality of life of therapeutics used in
the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. With the CERTs, the Center's national
reputation helped to establish a partnership with the Alabama Chapter of the
Arthritis Foundation and the State of Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH)
under aegis of the CDC's National Arthritis Action Plan (NAAP). In collaboration
with the ADPH, the Center for the Study of Community Health and the UAB School
of Public Health, the AMC has developed a statewide surveillance, assessment
and intervention strategy for arthritis. The Center educates practitioners,
insurers, and policy makers, and combines the substantial clinical and health
services research expertise of UAB with consultants and private sector partners.
Center faculty also regularly conduct presentations for senior citizen groups,
community organizations, corporations, and churches throughout Alabama, and
participate in broadcasted discussions (radio, television, and web). Faculty
have held leadership positions on the national level at the NIH, in the Arthritis
Foundation, and in the American College of Rheumatology, including membership
and chairmanship of NIH and AF Study Sections, membership on NIAMS Council,
membership on the Scientific Advisory Board of the ALR as well as chairmanship
of the AF's local and national Medical and Scientific Committees.
Summary
In summary, the AMC fosters excellence in every facet of its work. Individuals
contribute creativity, initiative, and discipline to their research with the
unifying goal of improved scientific understanding and improved care for persons
affected by arthritis and related diseases.
Director: Robert P. Kimberly, MD; Howard L. Holley Research Chair in Rheumatology;
Senior Associate Dean for Research; Director, Division of Clinical
Immunology and Rheumatology
Email: rpk@uab.edu
Phone: 205-934-5306
Administrator: Jennifer
A. Croker, PhD
Email: jcroker@uab.edu
Web site: http://www.uab.edu/amc
Approved by: Robert P. Kimberly,
MD, Director
Date: April 13, 2007
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