Northwestern University Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center in Rheumatology (MCRC) are: 1) to conduct cutting-edge, nationally recognized and funded research aimed at the prevention or control of arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases and 2) to provide the academic environment that supports and enhances the interdisciplinary research of the MCRC faculty. The objectives of this MCRC proposal are 1) to secure funding for the Center?s Methodology/ Data Management Core (MDMC), three clinical research projects: Local Environmental Factors in the Progression of Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) (Project 1), Long-Term Consequences of Lupus: Vascular and Bone Complications (Project 2), Racial/Socioeconomic Disparities in Arthritis and Functional Limitation Rates (Project 3), and one developmental feasibility project: Joint Replacement Surgery: Social Support, Ethnicity, And Gender Patterns In Patient Decision Making (Project 4); 2) to leverage this MCRC funding to enhance the infrastructure for rheumatology clinical research at Northwestern University, and 3) to participate in the national effort to enhance the awareness within the academic community and the community at large of the public health burden of arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases and the possible medical and public health solutions to these problems. The proposed MCRC at Northwestern University (NU) will operate as an integrated unit to address a broad range of clinical research endeavors. The MCRC will continue to unite the Medical School?s Adult and Pediatric Rheumatology Divisions, other divisions in its Department of Medicine, its Department of Preventive Medicine, and the University?s Institute for Health Services Research and Policy Studies and the Office for Clinical Research and Training. Moreover, it fosters interactions among centers throughout the United States most notably the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Pittsburgh. The proposed projects focus on crucial issues relating to important consequences of arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases such as progression of disease (in knee OA), associated clinical conditions (osteoporosis/cardiovascular disease in lupus), functional outcome, and health care utilization, with particular emphasis on underserved minorities, Two epidemiologic clinical research studies exploring pathophysiology, one health services research project, and a behavioral science developmental/ feasibility project are proposed. The Methodology and Data Management Core and the Administrative Core are proposed to support all projects.
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