l-r: VCRC Co-Investigators: Drs. Philip Seo, Nader A. Khalidi, Kathleen Maksimowicz-McKinnon, Stephen Ytterberg, Peter Merkel, Paul Monach, Curry Koening, Carol Langford, Simon Carette - Picture by Jane Dion

The Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC) is extremely pleased to report that our grant application for renewal of support for the Consortium was successfully refunded for another five year period by the National Institutes of Health, specifically the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS).

 Dr. Peter Merkel, of Boston University School of Medicine, is the Principal Investigator for the VCRC, along with Co-Investigators from the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic, and Mount Sinai and St. Joseph’s Hospitals in Toronto. The Consortium is currently expanding with two new sites opening, one at the University of Pittsburgh, and the other at the University of Utah.

The VCRC is conducting Longitudinal/Observational Studies to identify biomarkers for disease risk, disease severity and activity, and clinical outcome in six types of vasculitis (Giant Cell Arteritis, Takayasu’s Arteritis, Polyarteritis Nodosa, Wegener’s Granulomatosis, Microscopic Polyangiitis, and Churg-Strauss Syndrome), as well as clinical trials in three in different forms of vasculitis (Giant Cell Arteritis, Takayasu’s Arteritis, and Wegener’s Granulomatosis). 

The VCRC Patient Contact Registry is a method for patients with vasculitis to register themselves with the VCRC so that they will be notified of new clinical research studies conducted by the VCRC, including future online research projects. The contact registry is free of charge and anonymous, and patients can register by using a paper form, by calling a toll-free number (866-313-9879), or online by clicking “Join the VCRC Contact Registry” at http://RareDiseasesNetwork.org/vcrc. Patients are strongly encouraged to register with the VCRC. 

Our partnerships with the Vasculitis Foundation has been a key aspect of our growth and success and, on behalf of all the investigators and staff, we thank you for your hard work within the VCRC.

This is obviously a major milestone for our group and the result of incredibly hard and high-quality work by many people. Combined with funding for other studies, we will continue to have the resources to advance and successfully complete an ambitious and exciting research agenda.