The Thurston Arthritis Research Center was established at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine in 1981.  Our mission is to investigate the causes, consequences and treatments of arthritis and autoimmune diseases and to reduce their impacts on patients, their families and society. 

In 1994, thanks to a generous lead donation from Doc J. Thurston Jr., a free standing multi-purpose research facility was built and named in his honor. The Thurston/Bowles Building is the first building on UNC campus to be funded entirely by private philanthropy. Today, Thurston has more than 70 researchers and physicians from 17 different departments in the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, Pharmacy and Dentistry who collaborate to achieve the center’s mission.

Thurston has proudly served the people of North Carolina with a long tradition of excellence. Thurston is designated as a Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center (MCRC) by the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS, a division of the National Institutes of Health), one of eight such centers in the country. Thurston is designated as a Center of Excellence in Clinical Immunology by the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS.)

Thurston faculty members are major contributors to the Top 10 Arthritis Advances of 2006 by the Arthritis Foundation and are ranked in the Top 25 nationally for clinical care in rheumatology in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Hospitals 2005 survey.