When the NIAMS Intramural Research Program (IRP) began 20 years ago, it consisted of only two components—the Arthritis and Rheumatism Branch and the Laboratory of Physical Biology—and an ambitious agenda. Today, that number has expanded to six branches, four laboratories and several offices encompassing basic, clinical and translational research in a variety of rheumatic, autoimmune, inflammatory, joint, skin and muscle diseases. Its collaborations now extend worldwide, and its extensive intellectual and material resources, stable funding and long-term and even high-risk projects offer unique training experiences to a diverse population of junior and senior scientists.

IRP researchers are proud of such accomplishments as:

“Tissue engineering and regeneration represents one of the brightest future prospects in medical research.” —Dr. Rocky Tuan, chief, NIAMS Cartilage Biology and Orthopaedics Branch

• Developing immunosuppressive drug therapy to prevent or delay kidney failure due to nephritis in people with lupus
• Establishing the NIAMS Health Partnership Program and its Community Health Center in Washington, D.C.
• Cloning the IgE receptor and elucidating its mechanism of signaling
• Defining and treating periodic fever syndromes
• Providing new insights into 1) immune and metabolic muscle diseases and novel treatments, 2) gene regulation in muscles, and 3) possible therapies for muscular dystrophy
• Discovering that the protein JAK3 is critical for the cell-signaling process that results in infection-fighting white blood cells
• Developing initiatives in tissue engineering and regeneration • Implementing the NIH Pediatric Rheumatology Clinic
• Investigating the mechanisms of immunity and autoimmunity
• Advancing structural virology through advanced imaging techniques.

The NIAMS Intramural Research Program is a place of transformation: ideas become reality, trainees become seasoned investigators and basic discoveries become clinical successes. We look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.