The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) held its annual extramural Scientific Planning Retreat on March 28, 2017. NIAMS leadership, extramural program directors, and other staff discussed the following topics.
- NIAMS’ Interactions with Professional and Voluntary Organizations (PVOs)
- The NIAMS frequently partners with voluntary and professional organizations to encourage arthritis, musculoskeletal, and skin research. During this session, staff reviewed some of the many partnerships in which NIAMS has recently engaged. Examples ranged from large public-private partnerships [e.g., Rheumatoid Arthritis/Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Accelerating Medicines Partnership (RA/SLE AMP), Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI)] to discussions held in conjunction with professional society meetings to enable researchers to provide input into NIAMS activities (e.g., NIAMS’ Centers Evaluation).
- Leveraging Resources Developed through Large Initiatives
- NIAMS participates in a variety of large, trans-NIH initiatives that directly benefit the arthritis, musculoskeletal, and skin research communities. Discussion focused on strategies that would help NIAMS investigators leverage resources developed by such initiatives. In addition to the RA/SLE AMP and OAI noted above, examples included the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®), Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO), Human Microbiome Project (HMP), and Validation of Pediatric Patient Reported Outcomes in Chronic Diseases (PEPR).
- Metrics to Evaluate New and Ongoing NIAMS Initiatives
- Discussion focused on recent evaluations conducted by other NIH components and how these could apply to NIAMS initiatives such as the Supplements To Advance Research (STAR) from Projects to Programs.