AMP AIM Program

The Accelerating Medicines Partnership^® Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases (AMP^® AIM) program is a collaborative effort between the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), pharmaceutical companies, and non-profit organizations [https://fnih.org/our-programs/AMP/autoimmune-and-immune-mediated-diseases; https://www.niams.nih.gov/grants-funding/niams-supported-research-programs/accelerating-medicines-partnership-amp]. The goal of the AMP AIM network is to study the cellular and molecular interactions and pathways that lead to inflammation and autoimmune/immune-mediated diseases.  The AMP AIM Network is a collaborative effort that brings together experts in the areas of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as experts in the molecular analysis of tissue and other biological specimens, data analysis, biorepository, and data management.

One of the primary objectives of the Network is to maximize scientific interrogation and exchange by sharing technologic methodologies, protocols, and discoveries within the network and with the broad biomedical research community. A cornerstone of the AMP AIM program is to create novel, easily accessible, open-source data and protocols that will foster collaborative interdisciplinary analysis of clinical and molecular data in autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases.

AMP AIM Team Science Leadership Scholars Program (LSP)

The LSP is a joint initiative that aligns the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases’ (NIAMS) goal of supporting team science and collaboration with the Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) and the Office of Research on Women’s Health’s (ORWH) vision of preparing leaders in women’s health research. In this respect, AMP AIM provides the necessary structure and expertise to advance leadership and mentoring skills of promising researchers committed to working within a large network of stakeholders. The goal of the LSP is to prepare next generation leaders of team science that will improve women’s health. Furthermore, an expected outcome is increased representation of women scientists among leaders of complex, high-impact research programs in academia, industry, and the public health sector. The scientists chosen to participate in the pilot program will have the opportunity to leverage the expertise of professionals with diverse knowledge and skill sets to help tackle complex issues, which is a core tenet of the AMP AIM program.

LSP Program Goals

Autoimmune diseases afflict up to 1 in 12 Americans, with the vast majority being female. Notably, lupus is 9 times more prevalent in females and remains a top ten medical cause of death, while rheumatoid arthritis is 2-3 times more prevalent in females. Through partnership with AMP AIM, successful LSP scholars will collaborate with the AMP AIM investigators to leverage and augment the goals of the AMP AIM program.

These supplemental applications are designed to foster collaborative research with the AMP AIM Network to achieve the following:

• Improve women’s health by supporting the research and development of scholars who specialize in women’s health studies in autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases.
• Develop scholars’ skillsets in team science so that they can become effective team leaders of large consortia.
• Enhance scholars’ leadership and mentorship experiences so they serve as effective mentors for future generations of team scientists focused on improving women’s health.
• Encourage new emerging leaders to explore unique scientific questions and approaches that can leverage AMP AIM infrastructure, samples, cohorts and/or data to further advance improved outcomes for women with autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases.
• Synergize with the AMP AIM Network and contribute to the network’s scientific goals.
• Increase representation of women in science leadership.

LSP Program Scope and Components

This program focuses on positively impacting advancement of women’s health scientists to team science and institutional leadership positions. Although over half of doctoral degrees in science and engineering are awarded to women (NSF 2019), female scientists are still significantly less likely to advance to senior leadership positions (National Academies, Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine, 2020). One significant barrier outlined in this recent National Academy report (Download: Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Opening Doors |The National Academies Press) is the disproportionate time commitments and responsibilities of mid-level/newly tenured female scientists to teaching and mentoring activities. This program will provide salary support and protected time to develop leadership and team science skills for promising mid-career scientists committed to research to advance women’s health.

The program aims to fund 4 to 5 applicants focused on research of female-dominant autoimmune or immune-mediated diseases. Program components are expected to include:

1. Support 20-50% of protected time for the Principal Investigator through this program. The minimum commitment is 20% effort, but more is encouraged.
2. Successful Scholars will have a full-time, research-oriented appointment at the Assistant Professor Rank or higher (please see additional criteria below), at an academic, non-profit research institute, non-profit research organization, or industry research and development departments. They will have background and training in autoimmune or immune-mediated diseases, ideally those of increased incidence/prevalence in women. Applicants from non-academic/for-profit entities are not permitted to use funding support for PI salary from this award.
3. Scholars are expected to have already established their independent clinical or translational research programs and will be ready within 1-2 years to lead a multi-investigator grant like a U19, U54, P01, P20, P50 or similar federal award or intramural/ non-profit/biotech/pharma research program.
4. Scientific projects will utilize the AMP AIM infrastructure and enhance the program through exploring a complementary area of clinical research across diseases, new scientific question or approach using available samples, or a new data analysis approach to integrate findings within and across diseases. A summary of the clinical cohorts and data variables collected as part of the AMP AIM program will be made available to applicants upon request.
5. Development of skills will consist of participation by Scholars in already established programs, as well as in a Scholar-specific curriculum with additional training and mentoring in the areas of team science, including topics such as leadership skill development, conflict resolution, mediation, casting a vision, communication skills, team dynamics and associated topics through lectures, workshops and mentoring.
6. Projects need to address important scientific questions that enhance the reach and impact of the AMP AIM program. Projects should benefit from the expertise of AMP AIM investigators, infrastructure, clinical information, samples, and data that are to be collected, but also bring a unique question, approach or opportunity to the AMP AIM Network. More information on the proposed research for the Network can be found in the original AMP AIM RFA. Additionally, applicants are invited to reach out to the contacts listed in this RFA to discuss potential overlap as well as feasibility of their proposal. Successful applicants will integrate into the program through service on at least one working group and through other Network activities. Data from funded projects will be made publicly available through an NIH sponsored Knowledge Portal.
7. Applications from investigators within the AMP AIM Network or its associated institutions, as well as from investigators/institutions that are not currently affiliated with the AMP AIM Network, are all encouraged.