Bringing care and research to the local community.
Clinical Care and Research at NIAMS is located at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, Maryland, comprises several programs of research focused on rheumatological health in minority and underserved populations. Medical experts in the fields of autoimmunity, arthritis, lupus, and other rheumatological diseases conduct research focused on the evaluation, diagnosis, standard of care, and disease management of underserved patients from the local community (Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia).
The NIAMS team consists of physicians, advanced practice providers (NP/PA), nurses, patient care coordinators/navigators, and research assistants. Clinical Care and Research at NIAMS provides comprehensive medical evaluation in coordination with patients’ primary health care providers, and may refer patients to other NIH specialists for further evaluation or to outside health care teams for long-term follow-up and disease management. Services are provided at two locations.
Interpretation services are provided to non-English-proficient patients and their families. Local travel assistance is available to enrolled patients.
The NIAMS Community Health Clinic (CHC) - NIH Campus
The NIAMS CHC program is based at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. It focuses on the study of rheumatological diseases in minority populations. However, non-minority, underserved patients from the local community are also eligible to participate.
The Hope Center
The Hope Center is a community-focused research facility based in Washington, DC. The NIAMS set up a team here in early 2023 to conduct outreach and allow participants in clinical trials to be seen close to their homes. NIAMS shares this facility with collaborators including the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
Rheumatology Fellows Training Program
Find information about our ACGME-accredited rheumatology program and details of the advanced training in our Scholars in Translational Research program.
Other Programs
Natural History and Observational Studies
The NIAMS Clinical Research Program (CRP) conducts natural history and observational studies of skin (dermatology), joints (rheumatology), muscle (myology), blood vessels (angiology), bones (osteology), and autoimmunity. Some of the NIAMS natural history studies focus on specific diseases, including spondyloarthritis, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, lupus, myositis, vasculitis, melorheostosis, dermatitis, alopecia, and COVID-19.
Dermatology Branch
Lupus Clinical Trials Unit
NIAMS Community Health Clinic
Systemic Autoimmunity Branch
(Recruiting affected patients and healthy volunteers)
Translational Genetics and Genomics Section
Pediatric Translational Research Branch
Muscle Disease Section
Juvenile Myositis Pathogenesis and Therapeutics Unit
Vasculitis Translational Research Program
Clinical and Investigative Orthopedics Surgery Unit
Background
A natural history study is a type of observational study that follows a group of people who have, or are at risk of developing, a specific medical condition or disease. Usually, natural history studies observe patients over long periods of time to measure disease progression. Natural history studies do not test treatments (interventions), but many research programs provide standard-of-care management of a patient’s disease.
An observational study collects medical information and research data from patients to improve the medical community’s understanding of how the medical condition or disease develops and progresses over time.
The research goal of observational and natural history studies is to improve the medical community’s understanding of health and disease, and to develop better methods for the diagnosis, prevention, and management of disease.