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MYORISK Study

Environmental Risk Factors for the Anti-synthetase Syndrome

Studies Seeking Participants Icon Studies Seeking Participants Location icon Multiple Locations All Ages All Gender Icon All Genders Interested in Enrolling?

Do you have polymyositis or dermatomyositis?

A study is being conducted for individuals with the autoimmune disease polymyositis or dermatomyositis. The goal of this research study is to better understand the environmental risk factors that may result in these diseases. Compensation is provided for participants.

Who Can Participate?

  • Adults or children who have been diagnosed with polymyositis or dermatomyositis within the last two years.
  • Healthy friends or cousins of individuals with polymyositis or dermatomyositis.

What Is Required?

  • Completing surveys, collecting a house dust sample, a single clinic visit, and a blood draw.
  • You may enroll at the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, or an associated collaborating center in Maryland or Pennsylvania; the NIEHS Clinical Research Unit in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; or your local doctor’s office.
  • There is no charge for evaluations and medical tests at NIH.

Who Is Running the Study?

The study is run by physicians at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Lead Researcher and Researcher for Adult Participants

Adam I. Schiffenbauer, M.D.

Adam Schiffenbauer, M.D. is an Associate Research Physician in the Environmental Autoimmunity Group, and an adult rheumatologist with an expertise in myositis. He received his B.A. from The University of Chicago and his M.D. from Pennsylvania State University. He completed an internal medicine residency at George Washington University, and his fellowship in rheumatology at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. He then joined Dr. Frederick Miller’s group in NIEHS in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Schiffenbauer’s work has been focused on environmental and genetic risk factors, phenotypes, pathogenesis, advanced imaging, evaluation, and therapeutic trials in myositis.

Researcher for Pediatric Participants

Lisa Rider, M.D.

Lisa Rider, M.D. is Deputy Chief of the Environmental Autoimmunity Group, and a pediatric rheumatologist with an international reputation for her work on juvenile myositis. She received her B.A. and M.D. from Duke University, completed a pediatrics residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital of University of Washington, and her fellowship in pediatric rheumatology at Seattle Children’s Hospital, Children’s National Medical Center, Washington D.C. and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.  She then joined Dr. Frederick Miller’s group in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration and subsequently moved to NIEHS in Bethesda, MD.  Dr. Rider’s work has been focused on environmental and genetic risk factors, phenotypes, pathogenesis, outcomes, evaluation, and therapeutic trials in juvenile myositis and other systemic pediatric rheumatic diseases. She has co-led national and international myositis collaborative research groups, and authored from than 170 research publications, reviews, books, and book chapters. She has received several awards of distinction.

Research Webpage

For More Information About This Study

This content is available to use on your website.

Please visit NIEHS Syndication to get started.

Last Reviewed: January 22, 2024