Lupus Ontario hosted the webinar New Vision on Damage in SLE, presented by Ian Bruce, on March 7.
The webinar discussed the development of a new damage index for lupus that reflects modern medical practice and aims to provide a more precise way to measure damage. This would help researchers and clinicians better identify and study how new treatments may improve long-term outcomes for people living with lupus.
Dr. Bruce served as Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast, a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator Emeritus, and Professor of Rheumatology at The University of Manchester. After studying and practising medicine in Ireland, he also spent 1996–1998 as a Geoff Carr Fellow at the University of Toronto.
His lupus research influenced NHS England policies and NICE guidance that widened access to novel therapies for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). His work also highlighted the excess cardiovascular risk associated with SLE, which influenced British and European SLE management guidelines. At the time of the webinar, he was Chief Investigator on a project developing a new damage index for SLE in collaboration with the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC), the Lupus Foundation of America, and the American College of Rheumatology.
His presentation was a part of Lupus Ontario’s Annual General Meeting. We thank Dr. Bruce for joining us.