DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The broad aim of the proposed UCSF Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center Program (UCSF MCRC) is to improve outcomes for persons with various forms of rheumatic diseases by discovery of the medical, demographic, and contextual factors affecting those outcomes. This overarching aim is pursued by a comprehensive program of clinical research in the rheumatic diseases, including but not limited to that within the MCRC; by serving as a catalyst for such clinical research throughout UCSF; and by systematic training of clinical investigators in the rheumatic diseases. The MCRC consists of an Administrative Unit, Methodology Core, three five-year projects, and a three-year Development and Feasibility (D&F) Study. The participants in the MCRC span three UCSF schools (Medicine, Nursing, and Dentistry) and UC Davis and include representatives of nine discrete academic units, including the UCSF GCRC. The Center's Director and Associate Director are Drs. Edward Yelin and Lindsey Criswell, respectively. The Director of the Core Unit is Dr. Patricia Katz. The activities of the MCRC are guided on a day-to-day basis by an Executive Committee. Strategic oversight of the Center is provided by Internal (UCSF) and External Advisory Committees. The research in the MCRC is based on analysis of primary data on persons with two specific diseases, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), and on analysis of secondary data on persons with a broader array of musculoskeletal conditions. The specific five-year projects are: "The Interplay of Sociodemographic and Genetic Factors in SLE Health Disparities"; "SLE and Employment: The Impact of Individual and Contextual Factors"; and, "Do Mid-Life Musculoskeletal Conditions Lead to Disability in the Elderly?". The D&F study is: Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and MRI Markers in SLE Patients APLA".