May Choi, MD, MPH, FRCPC

Dr. Choi is a licensed rheumatologist by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (Alberta Canada). She is an outstanding clinician scientist focusing on SLE. Dr. Choi completed her Bachelor of Health Sciences at the University of Calgary in 2010, MD at the University of Alberta in 2014 and residency in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at the University of Calgary in 2019, all with stellar recommendations and accolades. 

From 2019- 2021, supported by a Lupus Foundation of America Gary S. Gilkeson Career Development Award, she was a postdoctoral research fellow in SLE at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital under the supervision and mentorship of Professors Costenbader and Schur. During this time, she completed a Master’s in Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with advanced classes in biostatistics, epidemiology, health economics, health policy, research in administrative databases and prediction modeling. On July 1, 2020, she was appointed to a full-time faculty position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, and promoted to Associate Professor on July 1, 2023, where she is mentored by Professors Clarke and Fritzler. 

She is currently Associate Director of Translational Research at the Lupus Centre of Excellence (University of Calgary) and is known for her clinical and research skills focused on biomarker discovery and translation using machine learning for the prediction of clinical phenotypes and outcomes and the prevention of SLE development, progression, and disease-related complications. Dr. Choi already has an established reputation as a top clinician scientist in this field, attaining 18 peer-reviewed grants as PI/Co-I/Collaborator (totaling $7,929,000); most notably a Canadian Institute Health Research (CIHR) grant investigating cardiovascular disease (CVD) in SLE. 

Dr. Choi’s dedication to SLE research and clinical service is demonstrated by a truly remarkable track record of accomplishments and contributions. She has published 65 peer-reviewed articles (40 in the last two years) and four book chapters. Her peer-reviewed manuscripts have focused on biomarkers and clinical outcomes in SLE, reflecting a strong team of international collaborators. Her research has been selected for keynote presentations at local and international plenary sessions including the Dresden Symposium on Autoantibodies, American College of Rheumatology, and Canadian Rheumatology conferences. 

Her remarkable contributions include (only highly selected publications are cited below): Precision Medicine: Biomarkers and using machine learning to identify SLE clinical subsets/phenotypes, in collaboration with members of the SLE International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC): • Choi MY, et al. Machine learning identifies clusters of longitudinal autoantibody profiles predictive of systemic lupus erythematosus disease outcomes. Ann Rheum Dis. 2023; 927-36. • Choi MY, et al. Longitudinal analysis of ANA in the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) Inception Cohort. Ann Rheum Dis. 2022; 1143-50. • Choi MY, , et al. Antinuclear Antibody-Negative Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in an International Inception Cohort. Arthritis Care Res 2018; 893-902. Decreasing risk and prevention of SLE and CVD in SLE: • Choi MY, et al. Preventing the development of SLE: identifying risk factors and proposing pathways for clinical care. Lupus 2016; 838-49. • Choi MY, et al. Comparative Risks of Cardiovascular Disease Events among SLE Patients receiving Immunosuppressive Medications. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021; 3789-3798. • Choi MY, et al. A Combination of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Reduce Risk of Incident Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in the Nurses’ Health Studies. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2022; 274-283. • Choi MY, Costenbader K. Prediction and Prevention of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Identifying Risk Factors and Developing Strategies Against Disease Development". Frontiers Immunology. 2022;13: 890522. She is also collaborating with Dr. Zahi Touma (University of Toronto) investigating neuropsychiatric SLE.

Dr. May Choi is the 2023 recipient of the Mary Betty Stevens, MD, Young Investigator Prize.