Zahi Touma

Research Synopsis

Dr. Touma is a Rheumatologist and Clinical Epidemiologist 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 impairment in SLE and understanding its course over time and impact on health-related quality of life and productivity. Dr. Touma is a member of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) committee for development of classification and response criteria for rheumatic diseases and the ACR methodologist on an ACR/EULAR funded project to develop response criteria for trials in giant cell arteritis. He leads the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) working group to update core set domains for SLE clinical trials. Dr. Touma’s work has been supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Arthritis Society of Canada, Lupus Canada and Physician Services Incorporated and Lupus Research Alliance. He is the recipient of an Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario.