MiLES is a project sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish population-based lupus registries to further the epidemiological goals of the National Arthritis Action Plan (NAAP).

The Unversity of Michigan received a grant of authority from the State of Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) to develop and implement a Surveillance Database with the purpose of identifying all cases of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and related connective tissue diseases in Wayne and Washtenaw countries.