Speaker: Dr. Zahi Touma

Moderator: Dr. Alexandre Boutet

Dr. Zahi Touma is a Rheumatologist and Clinical Epidemiologist at Toronto Western Hospital, whose research is focused on patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and measurement science with a particular interest in the assessment of disease activity, patient reported outcomes, and cognitive function. Dr. Touma has developed SLE disease activity indices: the SLEDAI Responder Index-50 and the SLEDAI-2K Glucocorticoids Index.

Dr. Touma has established the NeuroLupus Program which is a team of experts in psychometrics, neuropsychology, neurology, psychiatry, measurement and bioinformatics, with the goal of developing improved methods of identifying cognitive impairments in SLE and understanding its course over time and impact on health-related quality of life and productivity. Dr. Touma leads the Outcome Measurements in Rheumatology (OMERACT) working group to update core set domains for SLE clinical trials. Dr. Touma is the recipient of an Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario.