• Portrait of Hani-El-Gabalawy
  • Professor

    Max Rady College of Medicine
    Internal Medicine
    University of Manitoba
    Room RR149 – 800 Sherbrook Street
    Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 1M4

    Phone: 204-787-2208 (office)
    Fax: 204-787-2475 (office)
    Phone: 204-787-2392 (clinic)
    Fax: 204-787-4594 (clinic)
    hani.elgabalawy@umanitoba.ca

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Research summary

My early research career has focused on the mechanisms initiating and sustaining rheumatoid arthritis. Much of my early research activity in this area was dedicated to analyzing and documenting the histopathology and immunohistology of rheumatoid synovitis. These studies were based on analyzing human RA synovial samples obtained at the time of surgery and synovial biopsy. I developed a particular interest in the role of hypoxia in stimulating the molecular mechanisms that contribute to activating synovial fibroblasts, and in turn mediating process such as angiogenesis which serve to sustain the chronicity of the synovitis. My work in the area of RA synovial pathology culminated in authoring the definitive chapter on this topic in a top rheumatology textbook.

My primary research interests currently focus on the autoimmune mechanisms preceding the onset of RA and how they can be modulated to reduce the risk of disease development and progression. Since 2004, my research program has assembled a unique longitudinal cohort of at-risk relatives of First Nations RA patients in Central Canada in whom we have studied the mechanisms that promote progression of autoimmunity towards the development of RA. This project has received uninterrupted funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the past 15 years. My collaborations around this projects have spanned several academic centers across Canada, US, and particularly at Leiden University in The Netherlands. It is hoped these studies will provide valuable insights into how RA starts, and ultimately help provide the biological basis for preventative strategies. We are particularly interested in the effects of immunomodulatory nutritional supplements in preventing the progression of RA autoimmunity.

Biography

Dr. Hani El-Gabalawy is a professor of medicine and immunology, associate department head (internal medicine) – research, senior clinician-scientist, Endowed Rheumatology Research Chair at the University of Manitoba, former section head of Rheumatology and Arthritis Centre Director and the former scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis.

Dr. El-Gabalawy received his pre-medical and medical studies at the Faculties of Science and Medicine at the University of Calgary and completed his internal medicine training and rheumatology fellowship at McGill University. From 1997 to 2000, he was a visiting scientist at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2000, he returned to UM where he continued his research work in the area of immune mediated inflammatory arthritis. He has mentored a wide range of trainees in the context of this research program.

Education

Select awards

  • Outstanding Reviewer, Peer Review - Fall 2019 Project Grant Competition, Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the College of Reviewers (2020)
  • Canadian Rheumatology Association (Inaugural) Masters Award, Victoria, B.C. (2020)
  • Master of the American College of Rheumatology, Atlanta, Georgia (2019)
  • Canadian Rheumatology Association Distinguished Investigator Award, Quebec City (2015)
  • Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, Ottawa (2013)
  • Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS), Ottawa (2010)
  • Endowed Rheumatology Research Chair (2003 to present)

 

Contact us

Immunology
Max Rady College of Medicine
Apotex Centre
Room 471, 750 McDermot Avenue
University of Manitoba (Bannatyne campus)
Winnipeg, MB R3E 0T5 Canada

204-789-3509
204-789-3921
204-480-1347