Dr. Nielson received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Western Ontario in 1982. Both his research and clinical practice are in the area of Clinical Health Psychology. Until December 2013 he was Clinical Director of the Beryl & Richard Ivey Rheumatology Day Programs at St. Joseph’s Health Care London (SJHC). He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Western University and was previously an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Nielson was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association in 2005. His research has been primarily in patient self-management, multidisciplinary treatment of rheumatic diseases, and psychological approaches to understanding and managing pain. He has published approximately 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals or book chapters. His leadership role has included the development of multidisciplinary treatment programs for Inflammatory Arthritis, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Osteoarthritis and Scleroderma. Most recently he led the Medicine Services Chronic Disease Management Planning Team at SJHC, which developed a “blueprint” for care at SJHC. He is a member of the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group and was a Co-Investigator on the SPIN project before leaving that role to serve as a consultant.