NIAMS Update, Issue 4, 2022 | NIAMS – National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

Requesting Input: NIAMS Strategic Plan 20252029

NIAMS is updating its Strategic Plan to help guide the research it supports. The new plan will cover fiscal years 20252029 and will focus on cross-cutting thematic research opportunities where the Institute can be best positioned to make a difference in the lives of all Americans. NIAMS invites feedback from researchers in academia and industry, health care professionals, patient advocates and health advocacy organizations, scientific or professional organizations, federal agencies, and interested members of the public. Professional societies and patient organizations are strongly encouraged to submit a single response that reflects the views of their membership as a whole. Responses can be submitted on this websiteand are due November 30, 2022.

NIAMS is operating under the FY 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The interim funding plan for research and training grants represents the most current information as of the date cited on the web page.

Get the latest public health information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the latest funding opportunities and research news from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Additional news and resources include:

On September 22, 2022, watch NIH videocast, Cartilage Preservation and Restoration for Knee Osteoarthritis. NIAMS is planning this roundtable to engage stakeholders in discussing challenges, gaps, and opportunities regarding regenerative medicine approaches for cartilage preservation and restoration in knee osteoarthritis and where and how NIAMS could play a role and move the field forward.

Mariana Kaplan, M.D., Chief of the Systemic Autoimmunity Branch in the NIAMS Intramural Research Program, aims to stop the immune system from harming the cells it is supposed to defend. Her unique expertise is being applied to various disease areas, including autoimmune diseases, especially systemic lupus erythematosus, or lupus, Sjogrens syndrome, inflammatory illnesses, and COVID-19.

Researchers supported in part by NIAMS found that a molecule, called Lac-Phe, produced during exercise by various mammalsincluding peoplereduces food consumption and obesity in mice.

The NIAMS STAR program provided two funding supplements to early-career stage investigators who have renewed their first NIAMS-funded R01 grant:

Erika Geisbrecht, Ph.D., is a Professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Kansas State University in Manhattan. She leads a NIAMS-supported research project using the Drosophila model to determine mechanisms that prevent protein aggregation, and ultimately cellular degeneration, in muscle.

Corey Neu, Ph.D., is the Donnelly Family Endowed Professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He leads a NIAMS-funded research project to establish a noninvasive imaging method of measuring cartilage strain to predict osteoarthritis development.

The AMP BGTC announced that it has selected 14 rare disease candidates, including two rare orthopaedic conditionsfibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva and mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS, IVA, Morquio A Syndrome). In addition, a new request for proposals has been issued for clinical trial proposals directed to one of the 14 bespoke indications.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Opzelura (ruxolitinib) cream for the treatment of nonsegmental vitiligo in adult and pediatric patients age 12 and older. Opzelura is a topical Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor.

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NIAMS Update, Issue 4, 2022 | NIAMS - National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)