Dr. Dafna Gladman is a distinguished rheumatologist whose pioneering work has fundamentally transformed the understanding and clinical management of autoimmune diseases. She currently serves as Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine and Senior Scientist at the Krembil Research Institute and Schroeder Arthritis Institute. After receiving her M.D. from the University of Toronto in 1971, she completed post-graduate training in Rheumatology at the same institution and undertook specialized training in tissue typing with Paul Terasaki at UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Gladman has held significant leadership positions including Deputy Director of the Centre for Prognosis Studies in the Rheumatic Diseases, Director of the Psoriatic Arthritis Program at Toronto Western Hospital, and Co-Director of the Lupus Clinic.
Her groundbreaking research has established psoriatic arthritis as a serious condition requiring dedicated study and treatment protocols, challenging earlier perceptions of its severity. Dr. Gladman developed a comprehensive web-based database comprising 1,600 patients with psoriatic arthritis and 700 with psoriasis without arthritis, which has driven discoveries in genetics, early detection, and global standards for patient care. In 1987, she established the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC), which developed the damage index for lupus and validated activity measures that enabled standardized assessment of systemic lupus erythematosus worldwide. Her work identifying predictors of disease outcomes and quality of life has significantly improved clinical management and patient outcomes for those suffering from autoimmune conditions.
Beyond her research achievements, Dr. Gladman has been instrumental in building international collaborative networks including the International Psoriatic Arthritis Research Team (IPART) and serving as a founding member of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA). She has mentored generations of rheumatologists and received the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada's 2015 Mentor of the Year Award for her exceptional guidance. Her contributions to psoriasis research were honored by the National Psoriasis Foundation in 2022, and in 2024 she was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honors. Currently, Dr. Gladman continues to advance precision medicine approaches for psoriatic arthritis, developing biomarker-based tools to optimize treatment selection and prevent permanent joint damage.
