Mitra Moazzami

University Health Network/University of Toronto
Project: Validity and Reliability of Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Computerized Adaptive Tests (CAT) in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Mentor: Zahi Touma, MD, PhD

About the Researcher 

Mitra Moazzami is currently a medical student at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Mitra has been conducting research throughout her academic career. Prior to medical school, Mitra studied International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she focused her work in the Global Disease Epidemiology and Control (GDEC) program. Here, she researched about two very different topics: the first concerning structural correlates of HIV in Female Sex Workers in Lesotho and second the pulmonary outcomes due to household air pollution in rural Peru. While living in Puno, Peru for 5 months as a Global Established Multidisciplinary Site (GEMS) grant recipient, she helped conduct a randomized community trial alongside local community health workers. Prior to her masters, Mitra was introduced to research methods while earning her Bachelor's degree in Biology 

Summary from Moazzami’s Research Proposal 

As life expectancy increases for individuals living with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), providing care that minimizes long-term complications becomes vital. Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) are critical in providing patient-centered care. PRO tools involve participation of patients in their medical care and facilitate earlier identification and access to mental health and social support. The Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) is a newer set of person-centered measures that evaluates and monitors physical, mental, and social health. It purports to have widespread utility: It can be used with the general population and with individuals living with chronic conditions such as SLE. PROMIS computerized adaptive tests (CAT) are interactive and allow patients the convenience of completion at home. There has been minimal research on the use of The Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) computerized adaptive test (CAT) in adults with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE). The present study aims to examine the construct validity and test-retest reliability of the PROMIS CAT in a Canadian cohort of patients with adult SLE. We also hope to assess the interpretability of change scores [i.e minimal clinically important differences (MCID)] of a PROMIS CAT battery using an anchor-based approach and study the impact of disease activity on patient-reported outcomes compared to physician-derived assessment.

Publications and Presentations

1. Moazzami, M., Su, J., & Touma, Z. (2019). Combined Trajectories of Fatigue and Disease Activity in an Inception Cohort of Lupus Patients over 10 Years. For oral presentation at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA, November 8–13 and manuscript submitted to Lupus. 
2. Moazzami, M., Engel, L., Anderson, N., Su, J., Bonilla, D., Vitti, M., Akhavan, P., Katz, P., Beaton, D., Touma, Z. (2019) Validity and Reliability of Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Computerized Adaptive Tests (CAT) in a Canadian Cohort of Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. For poster presentation at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting, to be held in Atlanta, GA, November 8–13 and manuscript finalized.
3. Moustafa, A. T1., Moazzami, M1., Engel, L., Bangert, E., Hassanein, M., Marzouk, S., . . . Touma, Z. (2019). Prevalence and metric of depression and anxiety in systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism, 1-11. 
4. Moazzami, M., Ketende, S., Lyons, C., Rao, A., Taruberekera, N., Nkonyana, J., . . . Baral, S. (2019). Characterizing Multi-level Determinants of HIV Prevalence Among Female Sex Workers in Maseru and Maputsoe, Lesotho. AIDS and behavior, 1-10. 
5. Fandiño-Del-Rio, M., Goodman, D., Kephart, J.L, Miele, C.H., Williams, K., Moazzami, M., Fung, E., Davila-Roman, V., Harvey, S., Koehler, K., Checkley, W., & CHAP Trial Investigators. (2017). Effects of a liquefied petroleum gas stove intervention on pollutant exposure and adult cardiopulmonary outcomes. Trials, 18(1), 518.
6. Lara-Corrales, I., Moazzami, M., Garcia-Romero, M.T., Pope, E., Parkin, P., Shugar, A., & Kannu, P. (2017). Mosaic Neurofibromatosis Type 1 in children: a single-institution experience. Journal of Cutaneous Medicine & Surgery, 21(5), 379-382.
7. Moazzami, M., Salehi, F., Cheraghi, D., &  Hakimi, S. (2015, March). Capacity Building and Empowerment of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Iran. The fifty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). presentation conducted at United Nations, New York, USA.
8. Kundu, S., Modabber, M., Chiu, B., You, J., Moazzami, M., & Babcock, R. (2014). Impact of a structured duplex ultrasound hemodialysis access surveillance program on access intervention rates, Journal for Vascular Ultrasound, 38 (1),12.  

Learn more about research funded by the Lupus Foundation of America

For more information on Lupus Foundation on America’s granted research, please contact Ashley Marion at marion@lupus.org.