The Grand Opportunity provided by funding of this application will allow CARRA to rapidly transform the culture of pediatric rheumatology toward universal participation in research. This proposal is the first step in a major paradigm shift leading to global acceptance of evidence-based protocol-driven care as the optimal approach to treatment of pediatric rheumatic diseases by families, patients, and health care providers. Through the creation of sophisticated informatics infrastructure, provision of comprehensive site support and the engagement of families, patients, and communities, CARRA will provide the opportunity for affected children at every CARRA site to participate in high quality clinical and translational research. If CARRA could approach the level of research participation for children with rheumatic disease that the pediatric oncology research network (Children's Oncology Group, COG) has achieved for pediatric cancer, the health outcomes for all children with rheumatic disease would dramatically improve. To catapult the field of pediatric rheumatology research to the level of performance necessary to realize dramatic improvements in the outcomes and quality of life for all children with rheumatic disease, we propose four main strategies. 1) Investment in a CARRA-wide informatics platform with capabilities for capture, storage, visualization, and secure HIPAA-compliant sharing of validated disease metrics and relevant subject demographics, utilizing centralized Electronic Data Capture (EDC) during routine clinic visits and ontology-based data storage using a distributed database structure based on the NIH-supported i2b2 (Informatics Integrating Biology and the Bedside) framework. This will enable efficient, observational, disease-related data capture across CARRA sites for the major pediatric rheumatic diseases, (juvenile arthritis, systemic lupus, dermatomyositis, scleroderma, vasculitis, and pain syndromes) and support standardization of treatment protocols, clinical trials, observational disease registries, and comparative effectiveness research, forming the foundation for CARRA studies in the next decade. A platform of this scope also has the capacity to integrate clinical and translational research data and to facilitate future biomarker discovery and development as well as promote fundamental investigation into basic pathogenic mechanisms of rheumatic disease leading to improved treatments and possible cures. This transformative Grand Opportunity is not possible through any other funding mechanism. There will be significant return on this infrastructure investment as CARRA achieves greater success competing for future grant funding and developing public-private partnerships. 2) Provision of centralized, comprehensive site support to US CARRA sites through education, mentoring and funding. These approaches will enable full participation in the observational disease registry and maximize widespread participation in clinical/translational research. A coordinator network will be created and outreach to new sites will occur to insure the maximum number of children have access to participation in studies. 3) Development of a translational research laboratory network providing comprehensive translational study expert consultation mechanisms to facilitate biomarker discovery and development, as well as fundamental investigation into basic pathogenic mechanisms of rheumatic disease. Biospecimens will be stored in a state-of-the-art biorepository which can provide the level of security and sample integrity required, with ability to integrate with the CARRA distributed database. 4) Engagement of families and volunteer health advocacy organizations (e.g Arthritis Foundation, Friends of CARRA) through formation of an Advisory Board to assist in developing scientific priorities, understanding community barriers to clinical research participation, and facilitating local awareness of the burden of pediatric rheumatic disease and the advantages of clinical research participation. CARRA has the organization, and now potentially, the opportunity to change the culture of pediatric rheumatology from phenomologically- based treatment to true evidence- based treatment that will improve the lives of children with debilitating and disabling chronic rheumatic diseases. If successful, CARRA's exponential progress will serve as a model to be emulated by other emerging clinical research networks in rare diseases of adults and children.

Public Health Relevance

To catapult the field of pediatric rheumatology research to the level of performance necessary to realize dramatic improvements in the outcomes and quality of life for all children with rheumatic disease, we propose to rapidly transform the culture of pediatric rheumatology toward universal participation in research. Through the creation of unifying, scalable informatics infrastructure and the engagement of families, patients, and communities, the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) will provide the opportunity for affected children at every CARRA site to participate in high quality clinical and translational research. To meet this Grand Opportunity, we have assembled an outstanding team of pediatric rheumatologists and scientists including CARRA leaders, world-class physician authorities in informatics science, the Duke Clinical Research Center (DCRI) - a preeminent academic research organization, and 60 CARRA clinical sites representing almost every state in the US.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
High Impact Research and Research Infrastructure Programs (RC2)
Project #
5RC2AR058934-02
Application #
7943903
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAR1-KM-J (M2))
Program Officer
Witter, James
Project Start
2009-09-30
Project End
2013-08-31
Budget Start
2010-09-01
Budget End
2013-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$3,037,299
Indirect Cost
Name
Duke University
Department
Pediatrics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
044387793
City
Durham
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27705
Stevens, Brandi E; Torok, Kathryn S; Li, Suzanne C et al. (2018) Clinical Characteristics and Factors Associated With Disability and Impaired Quality of Life in Children With Juvenile Systemic Sclerosis: Results From the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Legacy Registry. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 70:1806-1813
Rubinstein, Tamar B; Mowrey, Wenzhu B; Ilowite, Norman T et al. (2018) Delays to Care in Pediatric Lupus Patients: Data From the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Legacy Registry. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 70:420-427
Boneparth, A; Wenderfer, S E; Moorthy, L Nandini et al. (2017) Clinical characteristics of children with membranous lupus nephritis: the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Legacy Registry. Lupus 26:299-306
Lewandowski, L B; Schanberg, L E; Thielman, N et al. (2017) Severe disease presentation and poor outcomes among pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus patients in South Africa. Lupus 26:186-194
Zisman, Devy; Gladman, Dafna D; Stoll, Matthew L et al. (2017) The Juvenile Psoriatic Arthritis Cohort in the CARRA Registry: Clinical Characteristics, Classification, and Outcomes. J Rheumatol 44:342-351
Phillippi, Kathryn; Hoeltzel, Mark; Byun Robinson, Angela et al. (2017) Race, Income, and Disease Outcomes in Juvenile Dermatomyositis. J Pediatr 184:38-44.e1
Prahalad, Sampath; McCracken, Courtney E; Ponder, Lori A et al. (2016) Familial autoimmunity in the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance registry. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J 14:14
Fitzpatrick, Lauren; Broadaway, K Alaine; Ponder, Lori et al. (2016) Phenotypic Characterization of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in African American Children. J Rheumatol 43:799-803
Henderson, Lauren A; Zurakowski, David; Angeles-Han, Sheila T et al. (2016) Medication use in juvenile uveitis patients enrolled in the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Registry. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J 14:9
Wenderfer, Scott E; Lane, Jerome C; Shatat, Ibrahim F et al. (2015) Practice patterns and approach to kidney biopsy in lupus: a collaboration of the Midwest Pediatric Nephrology Consortium and the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J 13:26

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