Dr. Tom Appleton is passionate about rheumatology research and clinical care. He was recruited to the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Western Ontario with cross appointment to the Physiology and Pharmacology in 2016, and appointed Hospital Chief of Rheumatology at St. Joseph’s Health Care London in 2020. He founded the Western Ontario Registry for Early Osteoarthritis Knee Study and is director of the Synovial Translational Biology Laboratory at Western and the Lawson Single Cell Barcoding Centre at SJHC London.

Dr. Appleton is a past director of the Ontario Rheumatology Association and past chair of the Canadian Rheumatology Association Scientific Committee. He currently serves as clinical advisor to the Western Bone and Joint Institute and the Arthritis Society of Canada, and chair of the Ontario Rheumatology Association Informatics Committee due to his interest in real-world evidence and improving outcomes for patients with rheumatic diseases.