Dunlop-Dottridge Lectureship: Dr. Hani El-Gabalawy

Dr. Hani El-Gabalawy is a Professor of Medicine and Immunology at the University of Manitoba, and a senior clinician-scientist at the Arthritis Centre and the Manitoba Centre for Proteomics and Systems Biology. He has held the Endowed Rheumatology Research Chair since its establishment in 2003. From 1997-2000 he was a visiting scientist at the National Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (NIAMS) in Bethesda, MD. From 2013-2017, he served as the Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis.

Dr. El-Gabalawy’s research interests have centered around the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the mechanisms that initiate and sustain this prevalent autoimmune disease. To address translational research questions in this area, he and his colleagues established a unique cohort of Indigenous North Americans who are at increased risk for future RA development based on having a strong family history of autoimmunity. Using an established framework for Community Based Participatory Research, this large cohort has been followed systematically for almost 20 years, and individuals who developed RA were compared to those who did not. Using a spectrum of state-of-the-art proteomic, cellular, and transcriptomic approaches, ongoing studies have revealed important insights into the origins of RA autoimmunity, and the mechanisms by which the autoimmunity matures and become pathological, ultimately resulting in the onset of chronic joint and systemic inflammation.

Supported by ongoing and uninterrupted funding from the CIHR, Dr El-Gabalawy and his colleagues are now undertaking groundbreaking clinical trials using anti-inflammatory/immunomodulatory nutritional supplements to modulate the risk of future RA development, while gaining an understanding of how the underlying pathological processes can be modulated and monitored.

State-of-the-Art Lecture: Dr. Lihi Eder

Dr. Lihi Eder is Clinician-Scientist at Women’s College Research Institute and Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Eder was awarded Canada Research Chair in Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases (2021-2026) for studying barriers of equitable care in rheumatology including the role of sex and gender as determinants of disease outcomes.

Dr. Eder has a broad background in rheumatology with specific training and expertise in psoriatic arthritis, musculoskeletal ultrasound and cardiovascular diseases in rheumatic patients. She is Director of the Psoriatic Arthritis program at Women’s College Hospital and co-Director, University of Toronto, Cardio-Rheumatology Program, an interdisciplinary program that aims to improve the management of cardiovascular morbidities in rheumatic patients by developing novel models of care and through research and educational activities.

Dr. Eder’s research efforts have resulted in over 140 peer-reviewed publications in medical journals, book chapters and editorials. She is frequently invited to present the result of her studies in national and international conferences in the fields of rheumatology, dermatology and cardiology. She is elected member of GRAPPA steering committee and VP of the Canadian Rheumatology Ultrasound Society. As a recognized expert in rheumatology she received a New Investigator Award from the Arthritis Society (2016), Early Research Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research Innovation and Science (2018) and Emerging Investigator Award from the Canadian Rheumatology Association (2023).

Keynote Lecture: Dr. Jillian Horton

Dr. Jillian Horton is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the Health Sciences Centre and the University of Manitoba. She is a graduate of McMaster medical school and completed her residency and fellowship in general internal medicine at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Horton has completed a longitudinal internship in teaching Mindful Practice (at the University of Rochester) and Chief Wellness Officer training at Stanford University. Her writing about medicine and medical culture appears regularly in the LA Times, the Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Maclean’s, and a variety of American news outlets by syndication. She hosts the novel series Arts, Medicine, Life at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and she is a sought-after speaker and teacher of mindfulness for clinicians, both nationally and internationally.

In April 2020 Dr. Horton was awarded the Gold Humanism award by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada for her national contributions to compassion in clinical care and her leadership in the field of humanities in medical education. Her first full-length book, We Are All Perfectly Fine: A Memoir of Love, Medicine and Healing” was released by HarperCollins Canada in February, 2021 to critical acclaim, and is a national bestseller.