Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology Newsletter

Dear Colleagues,

With 2024 underway, the Section of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology continues to advance our understanding of the role of the immune system in human health and disease.

We are tremendously proud of the growth of our Allergy & Immunology (A&I) program over the past five years. We now have eight A&I faculty in our section, many of whom trained in our program. A&I is expanding and providing clinical care at numerous sites throughout Southern Connecticut, extending from New Haven and North Haven east to Old Saybrook and west to Milford and Bridgeport Hospital locations. We continue to serve as a premier referral center for patients with allergic and immunologic disorders in Connecticut. Our pediatric colleagues are also seeing high demand as their faculty expands, and we are excited that one of our graduating A&I fellows will be joining them as faculty this summer.

Along with our in-demand clinical practice, our faculty and fellows have made important contributions toward improving patient safety and quality care, such as initiatives addressing the optimal choice of antibiotics for individuals who report having a history of penicillin allergy (read more below). In many cases, we can help establish that a patient is no longer allergic to this valuable antibiotic.

Colleagues across the section are making important research observations, providing state-of-the-art clinical care for patients with immune deficiencies, and making profound differences in patients' lives through the selection and management of biologic therapies for asthma, chronic urticaria, atopic dermatitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis, and antibody deficiencies. They are also looking into the impact of exercise and environmental influences on disease.

Many of us are gearing up to attend the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI), in Washington, D.C., later this month. Three of our fellows are scheduled to present posters of their work, along with a few residents and medical students interested in the field.

I hope you enjoy reading about the work of some of our section's talented faculty and staff. And I look forward to seeing many of you at the AAAAI annual meeting!

Sincerely,

Florence Ida Hsu, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology)
Training Program Director, Allergy & Immunology Fellowship
ida.hsu@yale.edu