Dr. Boulos Haraoui

2014 Distinguished Rheumatologist Award

Dr. Boulos Haraoui, fondly known by all of us as Paul, is an extraordinary candidate for the Distinguished Rheumatologist award. He is fluent in French, English, and Arabic. In addition to his accomplishments, he is a proud husband, father, and grandfather. Paul is a team player and a leader, which is attributed to his collaborative personality and ability to effectively work towards common goals. He is someone who could win both the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor award!

Paul has been a pioneer in biologics trials in rheumatoid arthritis. He is on the Scientific Advisory Committee of CATCH (the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort) and on the executive of Canadian Rheumatology Research Consortium (CRRC). He is chair of the Canadian Initiative for Outcomes in Rheumatology Care (CIORA) Committee; their current funding is approximately $1 million dollars. He was instrumental in developing the first CRA Consensus on the use of biologics in rheumatoid arthritis and participating in the CRA rheumatoid arthritis recommendations. Nationally, he has been involved in several initiatives, including Treat-to-Target, Education on Biosimilars, the Canadian 3E Practice Guidelines Group, and the RA, Psoriasis, and PsA Comorbidity Initiative. Paul has contributed years of service to the CRA, including serving as Chair of the Scientific Committee and as a member of the Therapeutics’ Committee. Paul co-chairs numerous advisory boards with great diplomacy.

You are likely to have seen Paul over the years speaking at the Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology (PANLAR), Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR), the French Society of Rheumatology, Nordic Countries Congress of Rheumatology, Moroccan Society of Rheumatology, Lebanese Society of Rheumatology, and the Mexican Society of Rheumatology meetings as well as presenting numerous abstracts at the CRA, American College of Rheumatology (ACR), and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) meetings. He has over 125 peer-reviewed publications and is an author of six book chapters. He has received grants from The Arthritis Society (TAS), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) in clinical/basic research in both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

His accomplishments are broad, spanning from international and national to local and provincial. He established the clinical research unit at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) and Institut de rhumatologie de Montréal, now comprising seven rheumatologists and six nurses. He helped develop reimbursement criteria for
biologics and immunization criteria for our patients, working closely with the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ). He was the recipient of the 2012 Award of the Association des médecins rhumatologues du Québec.

Congratulations from the CRA and we wish you many more years of success!