Zahi Touma, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Clinician-Scientist, University of Toronto; Scientist, Krembil Research Institute and Schroeder Arthritis Institute
DR. ZAHI TOUMA, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Clinician-Scientist with the University of Toronto and Scientist with the Krembil Research Institute and Schroeder Arthritis Institute. He is the Director of the Lupus Program at UHN.
His 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. One of his most significant contributions has been the development of the SLE disease activity indices – the SLEDAI Responder Index-50 (S2K RI-50) and SLEDAI-2K Glucocorticoids Index (SGI). In 2015, he established the NeuroLupus Program which consists of 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 quality of life and productivity. This program boasts one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive neuropsychiatric lupus databases, with over 400 patients and approximately 900 patient visits recorded. He has published over 188 peer reviewed original research papers, edited a book, several book chapters and editorials.
Dr. Touma serves as a co-chair of the Criteria Subcommittee of the Quality of Care Committee of the ACR for the development of classification and response criteria for rheumatic diseases. Additionally, he is also a lead co-chair of the SLE OMERACT Working Group aiming to update the core domain set and instruments in SLE. Dr Touma has been instrumental on the development of this group which includes more than 160 members including patients, researchers and other stakeholders from at least 4 continents.
Additionally, Dr. Touma is involved in several key lupus research initiates, including serving as a member of the Lupus Accelerating Breakthrough (ABC) Consortium Executive Committee and Research Committee, the Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN), and the Lupus Nexus Registry. He is a member of the Lupus ABC Planning Committee on Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) aiming to integrate PRO into clinical trials, ensuring that patient experiences and feedback are central to the evaluation of new treatments.