Research
UF Pediatric Rheumatology provides comprehensive clinical services and a collaborative team approach to the diagnosis and management of children with autoimmune diseases. The UF Pediatric Rheumatology Center delivers care to the largest number of children and adolescents with rheumatic diseases in Florida. We are the only program in the state with more than two board-certified pediatric rheumatologists or an ACGME-approved pediatric rheumatology fellowship training program.
Moreover, we are the only pediatric rheumatology program within a College of Medicine. As faculty, our academic mission is to advance our discipline through research and discovery. To date, the majority of our research efforts has been in collaborative trials networks funded by NIH and foundations, such as the Childhood Arthritis & Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA), comprised of centers in the US, Canada and Europe.
Significance and Innovation
The pediatric rheumatology faculty are dedicated to improving our visibility at the regional and national levels for excellence in patient care and active participation in clinical investigations to formulate evidence-based therapies for pediatric rheumatic diseases and better understand their long-term outcomes. The first step to deliver on this commitment to research is to increase access of affected children statewide to innovative treatment strategies through established clinical trial networks and industry-sponsored research. Similar opportunities to participate in clinical research are unavailable elsewhere in Florida and represent a unique comparative advantage of our program.
