# Core 1

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2022 · $229,048

## Abstract

An emerging understanding of the natural history of rheumatic disease where a ‘pre-disease’ state can be
identified has led to completed prevention studies in several rheumatic and autoimmune diseases (e.g. type 1
diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis), with many other trials underway. The emergence of potential prevention
strategies in rheumatic and autoimmune diseases highlights the importance of fully understanding the
mechanisms underlying the development of these diseases, from their initiation with being positive for a
predictive biomarker yet without target organ involvement through to the phase(s) of clinically-apparent disease
and extensive organ damage. Importantly, as a result of research advances over the past several years,
including a number made by members of this University of Colorado (CU) Rheumatic Disease Research
Resource Center (RDRRC) proposal, a hypothesis now exists for a key role of chronic inflammation and
dysbiosis within the mucosal immune system as a catalyst for both the initial break in self-tolerance in
asymptomatic individuals as well as a continued driver to clinical disease development and increasing target
organ damage. Exploration of this hypothesis across rheumatic and autoimmune diseases through multiple
evolving stages of disease, and the integration of multiple sites within the body (e.g. blood, mucosal sites, and
joints), requires special skill sets in study design, assessments such as subject-reported outcomes (e.g. pain,
well-being) and environmental exposures (e.g. dietary intake, tobacco use), biospecimen collection and
processing (including blood and mucosal samples), and analyses. To address these important issues, the role
of the RDRRC Resource Core 1: Population and Data Sciences is to provide advisory support for high-quality
studies in rheumatic disease as well as unique access to banked data and biospecimens as well as ‘living
biorepositories’ of informative subjects. These activities will facilitate research into the natural history of
rheumatic disease around the role of mucosal processes. Importantly, the Core’s activities are also expected to
recruit new investigators into this area by providing the support and materials necessary to facilitate their
awareness and research opportunities. In aggregate, these activities as well as the other RDRRC activities
should advance the field in terms of understanding disease pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment, as well as
actionable prevention of rheumatic disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10486145
- **Project number:** 5P30AR079369-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Kevin Deane
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $229,048
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-10 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10486145

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10486145, Core 1 (5P30AR079369-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10486145. Licensed CC0.

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