PLANNING GRANT FOR MULTIPURPOSE CLINICAL RESEARCH CENTER

本提案的目标是通过规划过程创建一个互动式临床研究项目，该项目将为约翰霍普金斯多功能临床研究中心（MCRC）确定、评估和选择项目。 我们亦会在规划年度内，设立研究核心，以支援这些计划。 该提案的具体目标是：（1）发展组织基础设施，以允许新的互动式临床研究项目，从而形成一个矩阵组织，促进研究者工作组之间的协同作用;（2）发展生物统计/研究设计核心，以协助研究者规划新项目;（3）建立及管理一个可供风湿病研究使用的临床资料库;及（4）建立一个生物核心设施，以支援临床研究。 约翰霍普金斯MCRC将利用现有的硬皮病，狼疮，血管炎和炎性关节炎疾病特异性卓越中心的优势。 此外，我们正在组建一个创新中心，以社区为基础研究少数民族的健康问题，重点是风湿性疾病。 该中心将把现有卓越中心的研究成果转化为加强社区病人护理的成果，并提供一种机制来开展以人口为基础的研究。 选择研究主题是为了利用我们的患者研究基础，并为风湿性疾病的新研究提供机会。 这些研究主题包括（1）自身免疫过程在风湿性疾病妇女中的作用;（2）硬皮病、狼疮、血管炎和关节炎中的血管疾病;（3）我们患者队列中的肺部疾病;（4）城市非裔美国人和社区中的风湿性疾病。 MCRC将促进现有项目和研究者之间的协同作用，将中心的活动传播给其他项目和研究者，鼓励年轻的临床学者参与这些疾病的研究，并将MCRC的资源扩展到约翰霍普金斯之外。

The goal of this proposal is to create an interactive clinical research program through a planning process that will identify, evaluate, and select projects for the Johns Hopkins Multipurpose Clinical Research Center (MCRC). We will also establish research cores that are essential to the support of these projects during the planning year. The specific aims of the proposal are: (1) to develop the organizational infrastructure that will allow new interactive clinical research programs, thus forming a matrix organization that facilitates synergy between working groups of investigators; (2) to develop a biostatistical/research design core that will assist investigators in planning new projects; (3) to establish and manage a clinical database accessible for research in the rheumatic diseases; and (4) to establish a biological core facility to support clinical investigations. The Johns Hopkins MCRC will exploit the strengths of existing disease-specific Centers of Excellence in scleroderma, lupus, vasculitis and inflammatory arthritis. In addition, we are forming an innovative Center for the community-based study of health problems in minorities, with a focus on the rheumatic diseases. This Center would translate research from the current Centers of Excellence into enhancing patient care in the community, as well as providing a mechanism to conduct population-based research. Research themes are selected to use our patient research base and to provide the opportunity for novel research in the rheumatic diseases. These research themes include (1) the role of the autoimmune process in women with rheumatic disease; (2) vascular disease in scleroderma, lupus, vasculitis and arthritis; (3) the lung disease in our patient cohorts;, and (4) rheumatic disease in the urban African-Americans and the community. The MCRC will promote synergy among existing programs and investigators, disseminate the Center's activities to other programs and investigators, encourage young clinical scholars to engage in research in these conditions, and extend resources of the MCRC beyond Johns Hopkins.