Dr. Sindhu Johnson is an internationally recognized rheumatologist, clinical epidemiologist, and clinician-scientist at the University Health Network and Sinai Health, and Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. She also serves as Program Director of the Clinical Epidemiology & Health Care Research Program at IHPME, one of Canada’s leading training programs in clinical epidemiology.
Dr. Johnson leads an internationally influential research program that develops innovative methodological platforms integrating data-driven and expert-informed approaches with advanced analytic methods to define disease states, develop and validate outcome measures, establish international clinical practice guidelines, and evaluate treatment effectiveness. Initially developed in scleroderma, these methodologies have become foundational across multiple rheumatic diseases and are used by investigators worldwide.
She has published more than 290 peer-reviewed manuscripts, authored five book chapters, secured over $8.3 million in competitive salary and operating grant funding, and serves on four international journal editorial boards. Her clinical research has directly influenced global standards of care, including pivotal trials that led to the first two U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved therapies for systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease—nintedanib (NEJM, 2019) and tocilizumab (Arthritis & Rheumatology, 2020). Through her commitment to global capacity building, she has mentored 24 international clinical research fellows and graduate students, many of whom have established scleroderma programs in their home countries or hold academic faculty appointments, extending the impact of her work across multiple continents.
Dr. Johnson’s courses include:
- HAD5314 Applied Bayesian Methods in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research, Lecturer
- HAD5302H Measurement in Health Care Research, Lecturer
- HAD6360 Research Internship/Practicum, Supervisor
- HAD5311H Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research Comprehensive Course, Course Director
Other Affiliations:
- Clinician-Scientist, University Health Network
- Director, Toronto Scleroderma Program, University Health Network
- Researcher, The Arthritis Society
- Professor, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Faulty of Medicine, University of Toronto