The scientific and medical communities are rapidly learning more about the human microbiome and the role it plays in our health, but there are still many gaps that need to be addressed. The purpose of this study would be to focus on identifying the relationship between the microbiome and a systemic disease state, helping to inform new methods for translating knowledge about the micriobiome into better, more efficient... more »

For many autoimmune diseases, such as Sjögren's, a lack of clinical, hematological and histological biomarkers has proven to be a hindrance to our understanding, management, and treatment of the disease. This study would focus on identifying such biomarkers in patients with autoimmune diseases to help improve diagnosis, better classify patients, and identify risk factors, and have the potential to show improvement with... more »

For Sjögren's, and other autoimmune diseases, a lack of reliable diagnostic tools makes an accurate and timely diagnosis difficult. This, of course, is detrimental to the patient and delays the appropriate care being received. This study would focus on the identification and development of better diagnostic tools for autoimmune diseases, such as Sjögren's, which could then result in more timely and accurate diagnoses... more »

Autoimmune diseases, such as Sjögren's, manifest themselves in a wide variety of ways in patients. However, a common thread in many of these diseases is fatigue, depression, and cognitive dysfuction, or "brain fog." These physical and mental manifestations can have serious, debilitating, consequences for those who suffer with them. A better understanding of the pathways of these manifestations will allow for a more informed... more »

Peripheral neuropathies are common in Sjögren's and related autoimmune diseases and can be a presenting symptom of Sjögren's. Burning pain and numbness in the extremities, trigeminal neuralgias, weakness, poor balance and altered gait can occur. Symptoms can interfere greatly with quality of life and function. This study would focus on identifying better treatments to address these symptoms in Sjögren's and autoimmune... more »

Patients with autoimmune diseases have been found to be at a higher risk of certain types of cancers, particularly hematologic cancers. A recent study found that patients with Sjögren's were eleven times more likely to develop a hematologic cancer compared to patients without Sjögren's. The purpose of this study is to identify the pathogenic mechanisms leading to the development of blood and other cancers in patients... more »

Children often present differently with Sjögren's when compared with adults leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, awareness of Sjögren's in children among clinicians is low, which may further delay diagnosis and treatment. This study would focus on learning how to better identify, manage, and treat Sjögren's in this special population and how disease expression and pathways differ in children compared... more »

Goal - Survey patients with Celiac Disease, Hashimotos and other autoimmune diseases to evaluate lifestyle, environment, food, antibiotics, and previous stomach viruses to see what has triggered the onset of various autoimmune diseases. Is the similarity of the molecules that the body attacks significant (ex- thyroid and gluten)? If left unaddressed more autoimmune diseases can develop. What do people with autoimmune... more »

Focusing recruitment on communities with a disproportionate burden of environmental exposures, develop and test a multi-level model to ascertain the burden of autoimmune inflammation, autoimmune disease, and reactive airway attributable to environmental factors at the 1) community/neighborhood, 2) household, 3) personal, 4) internal body burden, and 5) inflammatory biomarker response levels over time. Ascertain how genetic... more »