Tetsuo Shoda, MD, PhD

I'm a physician-scientist working to bridge the gap between the bedside and bench. My areas of research interest include severe allergies, molecular and genetic mechanisms, eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs) and precision medicine.

I have wanted to better understand allergic diseases for years. Growing up in a small town in Japan, I saw firsthand how my younger brother suffered from severe asthma. At that time, there wasn't a great medicine like inhaled corticosteroids. Because his symptoms were sometimes not typical, he constantly needed to be hospitalized due to delayed diagnosis and management. Thus, I wanted to become a doctor to cure my brother's condition.

When I became a doctor, his asthma was already well-controlled, but my motivation and passion for improving human health continued. I chose pediatrics and allergy as my subspecialties and was dedicated to directly providing care to children and families, especially patients with severe allergies or difficult-to-diagnose conditions, for 12 years.

My interest in eosinophilic disorders began with early clinical experiences as a pediatrics intern. The volume of the eosinophilic disorder clinical burden of diseases, such as severe eosinophilic asthma and EGID, and the complexity of the disease pathogenesis intrigued and challenged me to become involved in eosinophilic disease research. Before starting my lab, I came to the United States in the scientific pursuit of answers, serving as a postdoctoral fellow in the Rothenberg CURED Lab (2016-2022). This combination of clinical experience, medical research education, and basic/translational research experience provides a strong foundation for my bench-to-bedside research.

My mission is to improve the lives of patients with severe allergies and their families by accelerating translational research. Translational research takes scientific discoveries made in the laboratory, the clinic or out in the field. It transforms them into new treatments and approaches to medical care.

I am honored to be the recipient of multiple awards, including:

• NIAID grant, titled "Combinatory Effects of Genetic Variants in Eosinophilic Esophagitis" (K99/R00 AI158660, PI Shoda, 07/01/2021-06/30/2025)
• 2021 STAT Wunderkind Award

For additional information on the groundbreaking research being conducted at Cincinnati Children's, visit the blog posts linked below.

Outside the lab, I serve as the vice-chair of a workgroup of the United Japanese Researchers Around the World, a global network of Japanese researchers through which its members access the support and resources needed to advance their research and expertise.

In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer as a member of the Mecklenburg Gardens FC. At the game every Sunday morning in Cincinnati Men's Rec Soccer Over-40 League, I am cultivating teamwork and respect for others.