The Sumaira Foundation Selects Citizen Health as Its Real-World Data Partner
To Accelerate Neuroimmune Research and Provide an AI Teammate for Every Patient
June 18, 2026
The partnership gives patients a next-generation AI teammate to support their day-to-day care while building regulatory-grade data to accelerate research
BOSTON & SAN FRANCISCO — June 18, 2026 — The Sumaira Foundation (TSF), a global nonprofit dedicated to rare neuroimmune diseases, today announced a partnership with Citizen Health, the AI-powered, patient-centered health platform, naming Citizen Health its real-world data partner across TSF's communities. Through the partnership, TSF patients will gain access to Ari, Citizen Health's next-generation AI teammate, a tool designed to help patients and caregivers make sense of their health information and navigate their care every day.
The collaboration spans the full breadth of TSF's focus areas, including neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and MOG antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), as well as the foundation's expanding work in related neuroimmune disorders. Together, the organizations aim to give an engaged community of patients better tools for daily care while building the high-quality, real-world data needed to accelerate research and the development of new treatments.
"When I founded TSF, it was to make sure no patient with a rare neuroimmune disease ever feels alone or unsupported," said Sumaira Ahmed, Founder and Executive Director of TSF. "Partnering with Citizen Health lets us put a genuinely useful tool directly into the hands of our community while building the kind of data that can move research forward for every disease state we support. We chose Citizen Health because of their technology expertise, the trust they have in the rare disease community, and a founding team that includes Nasha Fitter, a rare disease mom who has built meaningfully in this space and genuinely cares about our community."
For patients and caregivers, Ari is built to take on the work that too often falls on families navigating rare and complex conditions, helping them organize and interpret medical records, track symptoms over time, manage appointments, learn from others living with the same condition, and understand the next best step in their care journey.
Citizen Health will also serve as the data layer and patient-facing tool supporting the foundation's research efforts. By turning everyday patient experiences into regulatory-grade longitudinal data, the partnership will help generate evidence that benefits the entire rare neuroimmune community. This includes streamlining data collection and reducing burden on participating patients in TSF's comparative effectiveness research in NMOSD, as well as TSF's expanding work in other conditions. Patients remain in control of their own data and choose whether to contribute it, in de-identified form, to research.
"What drew us to TSF is how much they care, and how smartly and optimistically they're building research that can show their community which treatments work best and help create new ones," said Nasha Fitter, Chief Business Officer and Co-founder of Citizen Health. "As a mom raising a child with a rare disease, I know how much it matters to have tools that let patients contribute to that data without adding burden. That's what Ari does; it helps people day-to-day while building the kind of data that can actually change the path of these diseases."
Citizen Health and The Sumaira Foundation will share more about the partnership and demonstrate Ari at TSF’s upcoming Patient Day events in Rochester, Minnesota; Michigan; Miami; and Los Angeles, where Citizen Health has been invited to present a combined vision alongside the broader rare neuroimmune community.
About The Sumaira Foundation
Founded in 2014 by Sumaira Ahmed shortly after her own NMOSD diagnosis, The Sumaira Foundation (TSF) is a global nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of rare neuroimmune conditions, building communities of support for patients and caregivers, funding and leading research, and advocating on behalf of patients. Beginning with NMOSD and MOGAD, the foundation has expanded its work to a growing range of rare neuroimmune diseases and supports a community of thousands of patients worldwide. Learn more at sumairafoundation.org.
About Citizen Health
Citizen Health is building the future of healthcare, starting with rare disease. By combining AI, community, and longitudinal health data, Citizen Health empowers patients to take control of their care and contribute to regulatory-grade data that can accelerate treatments. Its AI advocate, Ari, helps patients and caregivers interpret medical records, track symptoms, learn from peers, manage appointments, and connect to the next best step in their health journey. Citizen Health is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Learn more at citizen.health.
Media Contacts
The Sumaira Foundation – Taylor Macey, Director, taylor@sumairafoundation.org
Citizen Health – Kate Haldeman, Head of Partnerships, partnerships@citizen.health
