This response to RFA AR99-002 proposes to assemble a group of biostatisticians, epidemiologists, health services researchers and an Advisory Committee comprised of significant stakeholders in the Columbia Health Sciences Community in research on skin and musculoskeletal diseases, and arthritis, under the umbrella of strong leadership and the highest institutional mandate, to engage in a process of forging the consensus and agreements necessary for the creation of a biostatistics and research design core for patient assessment and outcomes research. The approach has four prongs: 1) hold two retreats to which members of the research base, their colleagues, appropriate institutional leaders, and campus infrastructure support directors are invited to enter the planning process and frame the structure of the a Multipurpose Clinical Research Center (MCRC); 2) separately meet institutional leaders and key personnel to forge the consensus and agreements that will form the foundation of a MCRC with institutional stability and the highest standards of scientific excellence; 3) prototype the proposed Methods Core by assembling signifcant methodological consulting services to work with selected investigators to generate three or four investigator-initated R01 grant applications during the planning grant funding period; and 4) utilize the assembled Methods Core personnel to raise the visibility of the project by hosting a methodology workshop on a topic in outcomes research in the NIAMS disease areas that ultimately results in a peer-reviewed methods publication.
