Dr. Vinod Chandran appointed Chair - Departmental Appointments Committee
Rheumatology
The Department of Medicine is excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Vinod Chandran as Chair of the Departmental Appointments Committee (DAC).
Dr. Chandran is a rheumatologist at University Health Network (UHN) and Sinai Health System, a scientist at the Krembil Research Institute and a graduate faculty member at the Institute of Medical Science. He is also an Associate Professor in both the Department of Medicine and the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Chandran directs the Psoriatic Arthritis Program at the Schroeder Arthritis Institute at UHN. His research interests lie in the genetic and molecular epidemiology of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, especially with respect to prognosis.
Dr. Chandran's current translational research program is focused on developing a proteomic and metabolomics-based screening and prognostic tool for psoriatic arthritis - a potentially debilitating inflammatory arthritis - as well as identifying and reducing barriers to multidisciplinary care of patients with psoriatic arthritis. His bench research aims to identify mechanisms underlying inflammation and joint damage in psoriatic arthritis.
Dr. Chandran has published 246 journal articles, two books and eight book chapters. He also has an H-index of 67 - his work on genetics, classification criteria and soluble biomarkers being the most cited. His current research is supported by research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, The National Psoriasis Foundation, The National Institutes of Health, The Arthritis Society, the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force and the Krembil Foundation. To date, he has trained 34 clinical research fellows and nine graduate students.
Dr. Chandran's leadership in his field is clearly demonstrated at the international and national fronts. At the international level, he is an elected member of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis’ executive committee, and is the co-chair of its research committee. Nationally, he was chair of the Canadian Rheumatology Association's (CRA) Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) Committee from 2020 to 2023, and continues to serve as a member of the CRA’s ASM and research committees.
Dr. Chandran has been a member of the DAC since 2018. Being a ‘people person,’ he enjoys learning about the incredibly talented individuals that have been recruited to our department. As the Chair, with the help of our dedicated DAC members and staff, he will ensure that all university and departmental procedures are followed in letter and spirit in order to set our new appointees up for success.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Chandran on his appointment.
