DESCRIPTION (taken from application) This program is designed for research training in the biology of the extracellular matrix and the pathobiology of rheumatic and skeletal diseases. Our aims are to have trainees gain experience in the cell and molecular biology, developmental biology and biochemistry that underlies connective tissue remodeling under physiological conditions and degradation and synthesis under pathological conditions. Individual supervised research and course work are principal components. Areas that are emphasized in this program include studies of inflammatory mechanisms and the cellular interactions involved, synthesis and degradation of components of the extracellular matrix, the role of ligands such as hormones and cytokines that influence these cellular interactions, the role of the receptors for these ligands and aspects of the cellular events concerned such as chemotaxis. The use of animal models forms an important basis for this training in addition to studies of cells and tissue fragments from patients with these disorders Another aspect of this training program includes clinical investigations such as clinical trials of new agents, the evaluation of biological and structural markers as surrogates for clinical endpoints and the use of regression modeling and clinical epidemiological studies to evaluate the utility of prognostic factor in several large databases. The faculty of this program have their laboratories either at the MGH main campus, the large laboratory facility at MGH-East in Charlestown and other laboratories located within the Harvard Medical School complex including the Center for Blood Research and the laboratories of the New England Baptist Bone and Joint Institute located at the Harvard Institutes of Medicine. Most of the trainees in this program are postdoctoral and include individuals with M.D./Ph.D. or dental degrees (D.D.S. or D.M.D.) Also included are undergraduate medical students who spend periods of several months to a year or, more in these laboratories and other undergraduate students who are usually here for shorter periods, such as students working towards an Honors thesis at Harvard College. There are, in addition, students from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine who already have their graduate dental degrees but are working toward Master's or Doctorate degrees in dental science.