Dr. Hugh A. Sampson Elected President Of The American Academy Of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI)

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: Allergy;  Public Health
Article Date: 24 Mar 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Hugh A. Sampson, MD, FAAAAI, was elected President of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) during its 2008 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. He will serve as President through March 2009.

The AAAAI is the largest professional medical specialty organization in the United States representing allergists, asthma specialists, clinical immunologists, allied health professionals and others with a special interest in the research and treatment of allergic disease.

Dr. Sampson is Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology in the Department of Pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where he also serves as Director of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute and Dean for Translational Biomedical Sciences.

His research interests have focused on food allergies, including the immunopathogenic role of food allergy in atopic dermatitis, the pathogenesis of food-induced anaphylaxis, characterization of food-induced gastrointestinal hypersensitivities, and immunotherapeutic strategies for treating food allergies.

His current NIH-funded research projects include studies of the Immunologic Basis of Cow Milk-Induced Hypersensitivities, the Immunobiology of Peanut Allergy and its Treatment, Immunoprophylaxis in the Primary Prevention of Allergic Disease, Therapeutic Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine on Food Allergy, and Immunologic Approaches to Reduce Asthma.

He is also the principal investigator in the Food Allergy Resource Initiative, in which a serum bank and registry of patients with well-characterized IgE-mediated reactions to a wide variety of foods is being established, along with a repository of cDNA expression vectors for all major food allergens.

He is a past-Chair of the Section on Allergy and Immunology of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He serves on the Boards of Directors of the Allergy and Asthma Network/Mothers of Asthmatics, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, and the Inflammatory Skin Disease Institute. He has served on the Editorial Boards of The Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, Clinical and Experimental Allergy, and others, and is a co-editor of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

He has been involved in AAAAI for many years. He chaired the Interest Section on Food and Drug Reactions in Anaphylaxis, the Interest Section on Dermatologic Diseases, the Scientific Exhibits & Workshop Committee, and the Cutaneous Allergy Committee, and the Adverse Reactions to Foods Committee and the International Committee.

He has published more than 350 articles and 50 book chapters on food-allergic disorders, and has also co-edited four books. He has received a number of awards and honors, including the Bret Ratner Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics and election to the Institute of Medicine: National Academy of Science.

Established in 1943, the AAAAI has more than 6,500 members in the United States, Canada and 60 other countries. The AAAAI serves as an advocate to the public by providing educational information through its Web site http://www.aaaai.org.

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology