Meet Our Fellows

A Fellow's Perspective

A 3rd year fellow in the pediatric track talks about her experiences regarding the Allergy / Immunology fellowship program.

Benefits of the Program

The Allergy/Immunology Fellowship at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine is a great place to be an Allergy/Immunology (A/I) fellow for many reasons. Our fellowship program offers an outstanding, well-rounded training experience in all areas of A/I, including asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, food and drug allergy, anaphylaxis, eosinophilic disorders, acute and chronic urticaria/angioedema, and primary immunodeficiency.

Sub-Specialties

The Training Environment: Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Cincinnati Children's is a pediatric A/I tertiary referral center with nationally recognized sub-specialists. The allergy clinics are very busy as we receive outpatient consultations from both community pediatricians and from other centers around the country. Therefore, our fellows become proficient in working-up and treating patients with problems ranging from "bread and butter" allergic diseases, to unknown, puzzling disorders. We become proficient in interpretation of pulmonary function testing, blood work, and radiologic scans, and prescribing and managing immunotherapy.

The immunodeficiency clinic is staffed by four physicians with specialized training in immunodeficiency and bone marrow transplants. In this clinic, we learn to diagnose and treat patients with relatively common immunodeficiency disorders, as well as very rare diseases such as chronic granulomatous disease, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and severe combined immunodeficiency. We also spend two weeks in the immunology lab gaining hands-on experience in performing and interpreting lab tests that are commonly used in the work-up of immunodeficiency.

On the inpatient service, we follow our regular clinic patients admitted for severe asthma and immunodeficiency, and we are asked by community pediatricians and other sub-specialists in the hospital to consult on inpatients with asthma, drug allergy, food allergy, anaphylaxis, and patients needing work-up for immunodeficiency.

The Training Environment: Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine:

The pediatric track of the fellowship offers Through the Internal Medicine Department at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine we train with nationally recognized A/I attendings who are experts in the management of diseases common to both pediatric and adult allergists, and who also have specific expertise in areas such as occupational asthma and non-aeroallergen, environmental triggers of rhinitis, wheezing and dermatitis seen in adults. The outpatient clinics and inpatient consults at UC and a number of hospitals in the Cincinnati area provide exposure to a diverse spectrum of typical and rare, adult A/I diseases.

The fellows who pursue the internal medicine track at the University of Cincinnati (UC) spend one year dedicated to intensive training in the care of adult patients with a variety of common and rare diseases, as specified above, as well as hereditary angioedema, chronic urticaria, contact dermatitis, and a host of other disorders. Opportunities for both inpatient and outpatient experiences, as well as training in both private and academic settings are available. Extensive cross-training at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is provided, with internal medicine fellows completing fifty hours of general pediatric allergy clinic and fifty hours of pediatric immunodeficiency clinic over the course of their training.

Rotating Call Schedule

Our rotating call schedule is very manageable, involving patient phone calls at night and inpatient consults after weekday working hours. The faculty member on call personally staffs all consults and is always more than willing to help out with any patient phone calls if fellows need advice. Upon completing the fellowship, we are well equipped to diagnose and treat any patient who calls or walks through the door.

Research

In addition to our clinical training, there are abundant opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research in areas such as eosinophilic disorders, asthma, food allergy/anaphylaxis, and immunodeficiency, to name a few. Many of the faculty members in our program are physician-scientists who conduct basic science, translational or clinical epidemiologic research. Many of the five fellows in our program had no experience with basic or translational research prior to starting the fellowship, but through extensive faculty support, have been able to design and carry out excellent projects resulting in quality publications. In the basic science laboratories, there are also many PhD and pre-doctoral students who are very supportive and take an active interest in the fellows' research. In addition, the UC and CCHMC fellows have the opportunity to complete coursework for a Master’s of Science in Epidemiology. Plenty of time is provided for research experiences both related to and separate from the Master’s degree curriculum in the second and third year of training. The faculty and staff strive to ensure that the required coursework is well integrated with other aspects of the fellowship.

Didactic Sessions

Another important aspect of our fellowship education is the strength of our didactic sessions. We have organized a number of different conferences to cover clinical topics and learn basic science. These sessions are held for one hour weekly and include: review of the practice parameters, interesting case conference, clinical immunology review, immunodeficiency case presentation, and allergy conference at which allergic topics are presented in a formal format. Allergy grand rounds are held once per month. There are numerous other weekly lectures that fellows are encouraged to attend – namely internal medicine and pediatric grand rounds, immunobiology seminars, and journal clubs. At the beginning of the fellowship, the amount of information we are required to know seems overwhelming, but step by step, by participating in these didactic sessions, we develop a very thorough understanding of the necessary topics. Additionally, these core didactics prepare us well for the A/I board exam.

Faculty and Staff

The attendings are excellent "hands on" educators in the clinics, conferences, and laboratories. Many are considered national experts in their fields of study. The faculty members are receptive to our questions and concerns regarding changes that could further improve our fellowship experience.

The Cincinnati Area

The fellowship is challenging and busy, but there is more than enough free time to enjoy Cincinnati with family and friends. Cincinnati is a mid-sized, friendly city with a very affordable cost of living. The hospital is easily accessed from many suburbs and multiple areas of town. Cincinnati and nearby Northern Kentucky areas offer theater, arts, music, restaurants, parks, outdoor recreational activities, and professional and college sports teams including Bengals football, Reds baseball, and UC football and basketball, and Xavier basketball. Fellows with children will find many family-friendly activities, such as the Newport Aquarium, nationally-recognized Cincinnati Zoo, Paramount Kings Island, children's museum, and excellent school systems.