Project Summary The primary goal of this T32 program is to provide outstanding research training in the pathogenesis of rheumatic and autoimmune diseases for individuals at several key levels of career development (medical student, predoctoral graduate student and postdoctoral MD and PhD fellow). The longstanding scientific opportunities in Denver in basic, translational and clinical research, as well as health services and outcomes research, provide a highly supportive environment to promote the broad goals of this training program. Newly developed programs have increased the emphasis on studying diseases more prevalent in under-represented minority populations as well as recruiting members of these groups into academic pathways. These efforts join together with longstanding innovation programs available through the NIH-funded Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI), with its Clinical Research Training Program and formal didactic training in clinical investigation for MD and PhD trainees, to increase opportunities and positively affect our T32 program. In addition, >20 Graduate School PhD programs provide substantial formal training as well as intellectual and laboratory resources for trainees interested in basic research. Extensive mentoring and educational programs in responsible conduct of research and scientific rigor continue to enhance the quality of the training experiences. Additionally, the ongoing support of the NIH-funded Autoimmunity Prevention Center, the Studies of the Etiology of Rheumatoid Arthritis (SERA), a rapidly expanding Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine, newly established programs in spondyloarthritis pathogenesis and prevention, and the Colorado School of Public Health further facilitate a comprehensive training environment. The training program will remain for this competing renewal under the direction of Dr. Michael Holers, Professor of Medicine and Immunology and Head of the Division of Rheumatology. Dr. Holers will work closely with an Executive Committee and Co-Director Dr. Kristi Kuhn. Thirty Participating Faculty Members will contribute. Notably, based on opportunities through development of a new Pediatric Rheumatology training program by Dr. Rob Fuhlbrigge and two years of successful research productivity by one of those fellows funded through an INCLUDE Down Syndrome T32 supplement, support is requested to expand from three to four postdoctoral fellows per year. Continued support for two medical students and two pre-doctoral graduate students per year is requested. The curriculum for the School and Department of Medicine includes research-intensive programs that provide access to highly motivated medical student short term trainees as well as individuals participating in the Medical Scientist and Physician Scientist Training Programs. The primary criteria by which the program will continue to be judged is the successful development of academic investigators who drive basic and clin...