NIH MedlinePlus Magazine: Meet the Director: Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc., NIAMS

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NIAMS Director Dr. Lindsey Criswell recently spoke with MedlinePlus Magazine about her scientific career, the institute’s mission and focus under her leadership, and initiatives that support diversity, equity, and inclusion.  

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NIH and NIAMS Host Visit From White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator

On March 23, 2023, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) hosted Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, at the NIH Bethesda Campus. During Dr. Jha’s visit, Dr. Mariana Kaplan, chief of NIAMS’ Systemic Autoimmunity Branch, discussed the impact of COVID-19 on people with systemic autoimmune diseases and the role of neutrophil dysregulation in COVID-19 and potential impact for “long COVID.”

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NIAMS Interns Thrived in Hybrid Training Program

Last summer, the NIAMS Intramural Research Program’s (IRP) Career Development and Outreach Branch hosted the first hybrid (virtual and in person) class of interns for the Intramural Virtual Training Research Opportunities program. The program gave students a glimpse of NIAMS’ structure and operations and the work of NIAMS IRP scientists. Read the full story for more information and watch video testimonials from the participants.

NIH Institutional Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Prize Competition

NIH announced an Institutional Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Prize Competition, administered by the Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity and cosponsored by UNITE and 24 NIH institutes and centers. The competition will recognize and reward biomedical and behavioral science institutions that have identified gaps in DEIA and designed, implemented, and evaluated interventions to address them. Visit this website to learn more. The deadline to apply is September 26, 2023.

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Exercise Energizes Patients With Autoimmune Disease

Researchers in the NIH Intramural Research Program, including NIAMS’ Sarfaraz Hasni, M.D., who leads the Lupus Clinical Trials Unit and directs the Lupus Clinical Research Program, showed that exercise training can help reduce the fatigue that often accompanies lupus. The study also suggested potential biological mechanisms that may lead to those benefits.

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VEXAS Syndrome More Common Than Realized

With support from NIAMS and three other NIH institutes, researchers determined that VEXAS, an often hard-to-recognize genetic disease with a wide range of inflammatory symptoms, is more prevalent with a broader range of symptoms than previously thought.

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Engineering Skin Grafts for Complex Body Parts

NIAMS-supported scientists created 3D-printed biocompatible human skin that is stronger than standard engineered skin grafts. Testing the new technique on mice using grafts showed that mice regained full function within 4 weeks of transplant. Three-dimensional skin constructs like these have the potential to help better heal burns and damage.

Helping the Body Heal Itself: Injected Stem Cells for Back Pain

A HEAL-funded research team led by Dmitriy Sheyn, Ph.D., at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles is pursuing an innovative approach to regenerate damaged discs and prevent pain.

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NIH Director’s Blog: More Clues Into ME/CFS Discovered in Gut Microbiome

Multiple NIH institutes and centers including NIAMS support research on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) through a Collaborative Research Center consortium. In this blog post, Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D., who is performing the duties of the NIH Director, highlights recent findings connecting ME/CFS to distinctive disruptions in the gut microbiome.

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NIH Director’s Blog: Connecting the Dots: Oral Infection to Rheumatoid Arthritis

This NIH Director’s Blog post features NIH- and NIAMS-funded research that potentially links gum disease and rheumatoid arthritis. If confirmed in larger follow-up studies, people with arthritis may be able to prevent painful flare-ups or reduce their likelihood by practicing good oral hygiene and controlling their periodontal disease.

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Therapy for Rare Bone Disorder Shows Promise in NIH Clinical Trial

A clinical trial at NIH found that a medication, denosumab, significantly reduced abnormal bone turnover in adults with fibrous dysplasia, a rare disease marked by weak and misshapen bones. Bone turnover, a process in which old bone is continuously replaced with new bone, is unusually accelerated in fibrous dysplasia and contributes to bone abnormalities. The study of eight participants was conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and the NIH Clinical Center.

NIAMS 2024 Congressional Justification

NIAMS recently released its annual Congressional Justification, which includes an overview of the institute and some of the current and future research plans. A PDF version is available for download.

FY 2023 Funding Plan

NIAMS is operating under the FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act signed by President Biden on December 29, 2022.

FDA Launches Lupus Treatment Consortium in Partnership With the Lupus Research Alliance

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has partnered with the Lupus Research Alliance to launch the Lupus Accelerating Breakthroughs Consortium (Lupus ABC), a first-of-its-kind, public-private partnership focused on addressing challenges impacting lupus clinical trial success.

COVID-19 Updates: Keep up with the latest on COVID-19 with health information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and research from NIH. 

Stay Updated About Funding Announcements

If you would like information about grants and funding opportunities, subscribe to funding-dedicated email newsletters, including periodic NIAMS Funding Alerts and a monthly NIAMS Funding News email, and follow our Twitter account (@NIAMSFunding) focused on funding opportunities. Also check out the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, the primary source for information about NIH funding opportunities. You can also request a weekly Table of Contents from the NIH Guide. In addition, the NIAMS website provides comprehensive information on NIAMS-related grants and processes.

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Spotlight on Scientific Imagery: Immunocytochemistry of Ameloblast-Like Cells

This image shows immunocytochemistry of ameloblast-like cells created to overexpress a mutant form of keratin 6 (red) associated with dental cavities. There is also counterstaining with phalloidin (white) and Dapi (blue).

Photo Credit: Olivier Duverger and Michael Cross, NIAMS Laboratory of Skin Biology

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Women’s Health at NIH

In honor of International Women’s Day (March 8), and National Women’s Health Week (May 14‒20), NIAMS invites you to become better acquainted with the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health and its webpages, including the NIH Coordinating Committee on Research on Women’s Health and the current issue of the quarterly publication, Women's Health in Focus at NIH.

Roundtable Summary: Cartilage Preservation and Restoration in Knee Osteoarthritis: Challenges, Gaps, and Opportunities

NIAMS regularly hosts roundtable discussions and workshops focused on scientific fields within its mission. These meetings bring together researchers, clinicians, patient advocates, and other experts to discuss unmet needs, opportunities, and challenges within the context of the institute’s research portfolio. This NIAMS roundtable focused on regenerative medicine approaches for cartilage preservation and restoration in knee osteoarthritis.

NEW: NIAMS Data Science Webpage

Storing, managing, standardizing, and publishing the vast amounts of data produced by biomedical research is a critical component of the NIAMS and NIH missions. This webpage will facilitate the identification of data science and data-sharing resources for the NIAMS investigator community. Its contents will be revised periodically with timely announcements and links to relevant online resources.

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NIH News in Health: Digging Into Vitamin D, the “Sunshine” Vitamin

Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, a mineral you need to build strong bones. Your heart, muscles, and nerves also need vitamin D. Even your immune system uses vitamin D to fight off germs. But just how much do you need?

Understanding and Restoring Whole Joint Health in Pain Management: An NIH HEAL Initiative Workshop Sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

July 25 and 26, 2023
Agenda
Register

NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series

Upcoming Lecture:

Autoinflammatory Disease and the Human Condition
June 7, 2023
2 to 3 p.m. ET
Dan Kastner, M.D., Ph.D., Metabolic, Cardiovascular, and Inflammatory Disease Genomics Branch, NIH

NIH Science Lectures and Events Available via Internet

Look for past videocasts, including:

• Demystifying Medicine: The Use of JAK Inhibitors in Autoimmune Disease—February 2023
• Rare Disease Day at NIH 2023—February 2023
• Annual NIH HEAL Initiative Investigator Meeting 2023 (Day 1) (Day 2)—February 2023
• Workshop on Inclusive Participation in Clinical Research (Day 2) (Day 1 is currently unavailable)—March 2023
• Inflammasomes at the Crossroads of Basic Science and Therapeutic Intervention—March 2023
• BMP Morphogen Gradient Formation, Interpretation, and Signaling Mechanism—March 2023
• Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee Meeting—April 2023
• Autoimmune Research Spotlight of the 58th Meeting of the NIH Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health (Dr. Mariana Kaplan and Dr. Andrew Mammen, NIAMS)—April 2023
• Virtual Listening Session on the NIH Public Access Plan—April 2023

For additional online science seminars and events hosted by NIH, view the NIH VideoCast Future Events and the NIH calendar.