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 The
Center's Origin. The idea to create a Center to foster study
of the autoimmune diseases arose at a day-long meeting of Johns Hopkins
investigators in June 1999. At this gathering of about forty faculty members,
representing some dozen departments of the Schools of Medicine and of
Public Health, it became clear that some continuing mechanism to exchange
collaboration among the faculty members interested in autoimmune diseases
was required. Even at this first meeting, faculty members working along
parallel pathways on different diseases in different medical specialties
found that their work would be promoted by such collaboration. Historically,
research on autoimmune diseases has gone on in different departments,
because these diseases (there are at least eighty of them) can affect any
organ in the body. The clinical manifestations are determined by the site
of autoimmune attack. Therefore, faculty in many clinical departments
are engaged in studies of autoimmune disease. Equally important, the immune
response involves many biological processes on the molecular and cellular
level. Basic scientists studying fundamental questions of immune disorders
are located in different basic science departments of The Johns Hopkins
Medical Institutions. The concept of a Center is to bring together the
existing faculty in many departments to improve and foster communication
and collaboration.
 The
Center Director. The first Director of the
Johns Hopkins Autoimmune Disease Research Center is Noel R. Rose, M.D.,
Ph.D. Dr. Rose is a Professor in the Department of Pathology (School of
Medicine) and in the W. Henry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology
and Immunology (School of Public Health), with joint appointments in the
Departments of Medicine and of Environmental Health Sciences. His pioneering
studies on autoimmune thyroiditis in the 1950s helped to initiate the
modern era of research on autoimmune disease. He and his colleagues have
continued to contribute to our understanding of autoimmunity, including
the first demonstration of the genetic factors responsible for predisposition
to autoimmune disease in animals and more recent investigations on the
influence of infection and environmental agents in the initiation of autoimmune
disease in genetically predisposed animals. He is co-author of the textbook
The Autoimmune Diseases, now in its third edition. This was the first
book to consider the autoimmune diseases collectively and to focus attention
on the fundamental principles that underlie all of the autoimmune disorders.
The Center's
Purpose. The John Hopkins Autoimmune Disease
Research Center offers leadership in the study and development of
improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention of autoimmune diseases. Physicians
and scientists interested in autoimmune diseases are located in nearly
every department of the Schools of Medicine and Public Health.
- Basic scientists engaged in fundamental research on the immune response study the causes
of its dysregulation and the reasons why they lead to disease.
- Clinicians
search for methods to improve the diagnosis and treatment of one or more
of the autoimmune diseases.
- Epidemiologists and geneticists seek out the
environmental factors or the genetic traits that increase the risk of
developing an autoimmune disease.
The Center creates the opportunity for
all of these Johns Hopkins investigators to come together in advancing
the battle against autoimmune diseases through research, education and
better communication, resulting, eventually, in improved clinical care.
Research. The Center promotes individual and collaborative research
on the initiation and development of autoimmunity and the pathogenesis
of the autoimmune diseases. It fosters the sharing of specialized
instruments and technologies, as well as precious samples from autoimmune
disease patients. A special interest of the Center is the implementation
of a postdoctoral training program, providing an opportunity for young
investigators to engage in fundamental or applied research on autoimmunity
at an early, formative stage of their careers.
Communication. The Center has established regular channels of communication
among investigators and clinicians throughout Johns Hopkins that are
interested in different aspects of autoimmunity and autoimmune disease.
Communication vehicles include seminars, workshops, and colloquia
focused on current research. Such activities began in June 1999 with
the First Johns Hopkins Autoimmunity Day. Now an annual event, Autoimmunity
Day brings to the Hopkins Campus distinguished international experts
to join Hopkins investigators in exploring the frontiers of research
in autoimmune disease. During the academic year, the Center also sponsors
seminar speakers to familiarize our faculty and students with relevant
research being conducted at other institutions.
Education. Within Johns Hopkins, the Center will enhance education
about the autoimmune diseases among medical students, graduate students,
residents and postdoctoral fellows, while encouraging the inclusion
of, and greater attention to, the autoimmune diseases in the medical
curriculum. The Center will arrange training opportunities for fellows
wishing to emphasize research on the autoimmune disease in their career
development. A goal of the Center will be to assist in recruiting and
supporting junior faculty interested in autoimmunity aimed at sparking
fresh insights into the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease, seeking
novel treatments, and developing strategies to prevent these diseases
among those at risk. Another goal is to serve as a clearinghouse for
reliable information about autoimmune diseases to the wider professional
and lay public, fostering collaboration with the American Autoimmune-Related
Disease Association (AARDA), and the World Health Organization to disseminate
accurate, up-to-date information.
Improved Outcomes. The Center will benefit the care of patients
with autoimmune diseases. Improved communication and strengthened relationships
among the clinical disciplines ultimately leads to better outcomes.
By encouraging the expansion of investigational programs and promoting
new ones, the Center will advance our understanding of complex clinical
problems. As component of the Department of Pathology, the Center will
provide laboratory resources for clinical investigations of patients
with autoimmune disease. Through the W. Harry Feinstone Department of
Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, the Center will encourage epidemiological
studies in the School of Public Health designed to elucidate the prevalence
and distribution of the autoimmune diseases, and to identify risk factors
that determine susceptibility. Clinical trials and outcomes research
will lead to better treatments.
Why Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins has led the
nation in developing new approaches to medical education, research, and
patient care, and many of its faculty are committed to studying autoimmune
diseases. Hopkins has a long tradition of interdepartmental collaboration
upon which to build the envisioned multidisciplinary group. A World Health
Organization Collaborating center for the autoimmune diseases, established
at the School of Public Health in 1971, will synergize with the Johns
Hopkins Autoimmune Disease Research Center. The Center is a multidivisional
entity jointly sponsored by the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular
Microbiology and Immunology, School of Public Health, and the Department
of Pathology, School of Medicine, where much basic and clinical research
on the autoimmune disease is conducted. Core Center faculty – those
committed to research, education, or patient care in the autoimmune diseases
– will be drawn principally from these two schools, but also from
the Schools of Nursing, Arts and Sciences and Engineering.
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