Dr. Thorne is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and is on the Consultant Staff at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario where he was Chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Director of The Arthritis Program; the latter is a unique Inter-Professional care program established to optimize outcomes for people who have arthritis and other rheumatic disorders.
He is sought for his expertise in developing Outcome Based clinical Programs, not only in Arthritis Care, but also Shared Care in a Comprehensive Musculoskeletal Program, Wound Management and NeuroRehab/Stroke Care.
He is active in Clinical Research as Principal Investigator with The Arthritis Program Research Group Inc. As part of a strategic interest in identifying ‘Best Practices’, he has established an Early Arthritis Clinic, collaborating with a national initiative, CATCH -of which he is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee and Operations Director, and an Osteoporosis Intervention Clinic. He sits on the Steering and Scientific Committee of the Ontario Best Practices Research Initiative, a collaborative attempt among stakeholders to describe and disseminate outcomes and best practices, in the management of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
He was an active Investigator and participant in the successful Canadian Rheumatology Research Consortium and served as Secretary-Treasurer, until its conclusion in 2014. He is a founding member of the Ontario Rheumatology Association and Past-President (2006-10). He is past President of the Canadian Rheumatology Association (2012-2014) and past Secretary-Treasurer (1996-2004). He is past Secretary-Treasurer of PANLAR, and has served on the Steering Committee of CARE, a European based group interested in the non-pharmacologic management of arthritis. He was a member of the Rehab Committee of the American College of Rheumatology 2003-09 and served as Chair of the Committee, until its dissolution. He has been involved in improving care for those with arthritis through the above initiatives, and his work with CRA and ORA, in Best Practices identification and dissemination strategies, and development of Models of Care frameworks (ORA); and improving the health of the community, as a past member of the York Region District Health Council (DHC) and past-Chair of the amalgamated Simcoe-York DHC.
Since the cancellation of TAP by Southlake in January 2021, he has become energized in the establishment of a Not-for-Profit organization (Centre of Arthritis Excellence – CArE) to develop a community-based MSK program, the first of its kind supported by the Ontario Ministry of Health, as a Portal of MSK Care, utilizing an Inter-Professional MoC, opened in September 2022.
Dr. Thorne has been recognized by his colleagues and peers, with the ORA Distinguished Rheumatologist Award (2010), the CRA Distinguished Rheumatologist Award (2015), and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), and has been recognized as a Master of the American College of Rheumatology (2016), in Washington DC. And awarded Master CRA in 2019.