Dr. Fortin is a certified rheumatologist and a clinical epidemiologist. His research interests are both clinical and methodological. Clinically, Dr. Fortin has been working on a better understanding of the bio-psycho-social impact of chronic rheumatic diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS), systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD), osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. He is particularly interested in developing better interventions for the treatment of SLE, APS and SARD.

His methodological interests cover the development and validation of health status measures and other clinical tools such as measures of disease activity or damage in SLE. He has worked on the concept of clinically relevant change in lupus disease activity and, in collaboration with Dr. Michael Abrahamowicz, has developed new methods to better link the measure of change with that of clinical relevance.

His other methodological interests include the development of risk profiles for arterial or venous thrombosis in APS, the testing of treatments of disease activity or cardiovascular disease in SLE, or the validation of biological markers in osteoarthritis.

Additional Appointments

• Tenured Professor, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Université Laval (Quebec City)
  

• Chair, Canadian Network for Improved Outcomesin Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (CaNIOS)
  

• Member, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC)

• Dieudi M., Correa J., Neville C., Pineau C., Levine J., Subang R., Landolt-Marticorena C., Su J., Kassis J., Solymoss S., Fortin PR, Rauch J. Autoantibodies to Heat Shock Protein 60 are Associated with Arterial Vascular Events in Patients with Anti-phospholipid Antibodies. Arthritis and Rheumatism. 2011 Aug;63(8):2416-24.

• Barber C., Gold WL, Fortin PR. Infections in the lupus patient: perspectives on prevention. Current Opinion Rheumatol. 2011 Jul; 23(4):358-65.

• Reich HN, Gladman DD, Urowitz MB, Bargman JM, Hladunewich MA, Fan CPS, Su J, Herzenberg AM, Cattran DC, Wither J, Landolt-Marticorena C, Scholey JW, Fortin PR. Persistent Proteinuria and Dyslipidemia Increase the Risk of Progressive Chronic Kidney Disease in Lupus Erythematosus. Kidney International (2011) 79, 914920.

• Balitsky AK, Peeva V, Su J, Aghdassi E, Yeo E, Gladman DD, Urowitz MB, Fortin PR. Thrombovascular Events affect Quality of Life in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. J Rheumatol. 2011 Jun;38(6):1017-9.

• Landolt-Marticorena C, Wither R, Reich H, Herzenberg A, Scholey J, Gladman DD, Urowitz MB, Fortin PR, Wither J. Increased Expression of B Cell Activation Factor Supports the Abnormal Expansion of Transitional B Cells in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. J Rheumatol. 2011 Apr; 38(4):642-51.

• Aghdassi E, Zhang W, St-Pierre Y, Clarke AE, Morrison S, Peeva V, Landolt-Marticorena C, Su J, Reich H, Scholey J, Herzenberg A, Pope JE, Peschken C; LuNNET CaNIOS Investigators, Wither JE, Fortin PR. Healthcare Cost and Loss of Productivity in a Canadian Population of Patients with and Without Lupus Nephritis. J Rheumatol. 2011 Apr; 38(4):658-66.

• Zhang W, Aghdassi E, Reich HN., Su J, Lou W, Landolt-Marticorena C, Gladman D, Urowitz M, Scholey J, Fortin PR. Glomerular Filtration Rate Predicts Arterial Events in Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Rheumatology 2011 Apr; 50(4):799-805.

• Aghdassi E, Ma DW, Morrison S, Hillyer LM, Clarke S, Gladman DD, Urowitz MB, Fortin PR. Alterations in Circulating Fatty Acid Composition in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Pilot Study. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2011 Mar; 35(2): 198-208.

• Bernatsky S, Peschken C, Fortin PR, Urowitz MB, Gladman DD, Pope E, Hudson M, Zummer M, Smith D, Arbillaga H, Clarke A. Medication Use in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Journal of Rheumatology; 2011 Feb;38(2):271-4.

• Cooper G, Wither J, Bernatsky S, Claudio J, Clarke A, Rioux J, CaNIOS Collaborators, Fortin PR. Occupational and Environmental Exposures and Risk of SLE: Silica, Sunlight, Solvents. Rheumatology 2010 Nov;49(11):2172-80.

• Yip J, Aghdassi E, Su J, Lou W, Reich H, Bargman J, Scholey J, Gladman D, Urowitz MB, and Fortin PR. Serum Albumin as a Marker for Disease Activity in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Journal of Rheumatology. 2010 Aug 1; 37(8):1667-72.

• Zhu LJ. Landolt-Marticorena C. Li T. Yang X. Yu XQ. Gladman DD. Urowitz MB. Fortin PR. Wither JE. Altered Expression of TNF-alpha Signaling Pathway Proteins in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Journal of Rheumatology. 2010 Aug 1; 37(8):1658-66.

• Jung H, Bobba R, Su J, Shariati-Sarabi Z, Gladman D, Urowitz M.B., Lou W, Fortin PR. The Protective Effect of Antimalarial Drug on Thrombovascular Events in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Arthritis and Rheumatism. 2010 Mar;62(3):863-8.

• Aghdassi E, Morrison S, Landolt-Marticorena C, Su J, Pineau C, Gladman D, Urowitz MB, Pope J, Peschken C, CaNIOS LuNNET & HIPP Investigators, DaCosta D, Wither J, Fortin PR. The Use of Micronutrient Supplements is not Associated with Better Quality of Life & Disease Activity in Canadian Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Journal of Rheumatology. 2010 Jan;37(1):87-90.

• Peschken C, Katz S, Silverman E, Pope J, Fortin PR, Pineau C, Smith C, Hector A, Gladman D, Urowitz M, Inman R, Carette S, Zummer M, Clarke A, Bernatsky S, Hudson M. The 1000 Canadian Faces of Lupus: Determinants of Disease Outcome in a Large Multi-Ethnic Cohort. Journal of Rheumatology 2009 Apr 15;36:1200-8.

• Villani A, Lemire M, Fortin G, Louis E, Silverberg M, Collette C, Baba N, Libioulle C, Belaiche J, Bitton A, Gaudet D, Cohen A, Langelier D, Fortin PR, Wither J, Sarfati M, Rutgeerts P, Rioux J, Vermeire S, Hudson T, Franchimont D. Common variants in the NLRP3 region contribute to Crohn's disease susceptibility. Nature Genetics 2009 Jan;41(1):71-6.

• Al-Dhanhani A, Gignac M, Su J, Fortin PR. Work Disability in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Arthritis and Rheumatism 2009 Mar 15;61(3):378-85.

• Neville C, Rauch J, Kassis J, Solymoss S, Joseph L, Belisle P, Fortin PR (*Neville C and Rauch J contributed equally to this research). Antiphospholipid antibodies predict imminent vascular events independently from other risk factors in a prospective cohort. Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2009;101(1):100-7 PMID: 19132195.

• Fortin PR, Abrahamowicz M, Ferland D, Lacaille D, Smith CD, Zummer M, and the Canadian Network for Improved Outcomes in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Steroid-sparing effects of methotrexate in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Arthritis Care and Research. 2008;59(12):1796-1804.

• Cooper GC, Wither JE, McKenzie T, Claudio J, CaNIOS GenES Investigators, Fortin PR. The prevalence and accuracy of self-reported history of eleven autoimmune diseases. J Rheumatol. 2008;35(10):1-4.

• Hudson M, Bernatsky S, Taillefer S, Fortin PR, Wither J, Baron M, Canadian Scleroderma Research Group (CSRG), Canadian Network for Improved Outcomes in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (CaNIOS). Patients with systemic autoimmune diseases could not distinguish comorbidities from their index disease. J Clin Epidemiol. 2008;61(7):654-62.

• Cunninghame Graham DS, Vyse TJ, Fortin PR, Montpetit A, Cai Y, Lim S, McKenzie T, Rhodes B, Chad L, CaNIOS GenES Investigators, Hudson TJ, Greenwood CMT, Wither J and Rioux JD. Association of SLAMF7 and LY9 in UK and Canadian SLE Families. (J. Wither and J. Rioux are co-last authors.) Association of LY9 in UK and Canadian SLE families. Genes Immun 2008; 9(2):93-102.

• Karp I, Abrahamowicz M, Fortin PR, Pilote L, Neville C, Pineau CA, Esdaile J. Recent corticosteroid use and recent disease activity: are they independent determinants of coronary heart disease risk factors in systemic lupus erythematosus? Arthritis and Rheumatism 2008; 59(2):169-75.

• Urowitz MB, Gladman D, Ibanez, Fortin, P, Sanchez-Guerrero J, Bae S, Clarke A, Bernatsky S, Gordon C, Hanly J, Wallace D, Isenberg D, Ginzler E, Merrill J, Alarcon G, Steinsson K, Petri M, Dooley MA, Bruce I, Manzi S, Khamashta M, Ramsey-Goldman R, Zoma A, Sturfelt G, Nived O, Maddison P, Font J, van Vollenhoven R, Aranow C, Kalunian K, Stoll T, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC). Accumulation of coronary artery disease risk factors over three years: data from an internationl inception cohort. Arthritis and Rheumatism 2008 Feb 15; 59(2):176-80.

• Chang ER, Pineau CA, Bernatsky S, Neville C, Clarke AE, Fortin PR. The risk of incident arterial or venous thromboembolic events varies over the course of systemic lupus erythematosus. Journal of Rheumatology 2006;33:1780-1784.

• Tisseverasinghe A, Lim S, Greenwood C, Urowitz M, Gladman D, Fortin PR. Association between serum total cholesterol and renal outcome in systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis and Rheumatism 2006;54(7): 2211-2219.

• Neville C, Rauch J, Kassis J, Solymoss S, Joseph L, Belisle P, Chang E, Fortin PR. The persistence of anticardiolipin antibodies is associated with the presence of lupus anticoagulant and anti beta 2-glycoprotein I antibodies. Rheumatology, 2006;54(9):1116-1120.

• Shariati Sarabi Z, Chang ER, Bobba RS, Ibanez D, Gladman D, Urowitz M, Fortin PR. The incidence rates of arterial and venous thrombosis after diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis Care and Research 2005 Aug 15;53(4):609-12.

• Benk V, Al-Herz A, Gladman D, Urowitz M, Fortin PR. Role of radiation therapy in patients with a diagnosis of both systemic lupus erythematosus and cancer. Arthritis Care & Research. 2005;53: February 15,2005.

• Kassis J, Neville C, Rauch J, Busque L, Chang ER, Joseph L, LeComte M, Subang R, Fortin PR. Antiphospholipid antibodies and thrombosis: Association with acquired activated protein C resistance in venous thrombosis and with hyperhomocysteinemia in arterial thrombosis. Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2004;92:1312-1319.

UHN Arthritis and Autoimmunity Research Centre
Centre for Prognosis Studies in the Rheumatic Diseases
Canadian Network for Improved Outcomes Systemic Lupus Erythematosus