Gurjit Khurana Hershey, MD, PhD
Division Director of Asthma Research
Dr. Gurjit Khurana Hershey is an endowed professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and the director of the Division of Asthma Research. She is board certified in pediatrics and allergy and immunology and is an active clinician, educator, and researcher. Dr. Khurana Hershey is a physician scientist who has devoted her career to clinical investigation using a combination of epidemiologic, basic, translational, and clinical research to answer fundamental questions regarding the environmental and genetic factors that contribute to the development of childhood asthma and the mechanisms by which these factors interact and contribute to disease. Dr. Khurana Hershey is internationally recognized for her contributions and highly regarded by her peers. She serves on the National Advisory Allergy and Infectious Disease Council. She also served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Her research focuses on the overall goal of improving the health of children with asthma. Her laboratory uses multidisciplinary approaches that seamlessly integrate innovative human cohorts with animal and in vitro models to identify and delineate the mechanisms that contribute to the development, progression, and persistence of asthma. Current projects in the laboratory include: (1) understanding the role of the epithelial barrier in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis, asthma and allergic diseases; (2) delineate the mechanistic basis of the atopic march; (3) molecular phenotyping and endotyping of allergic diseases to better define and subclassify atopic dermatitis and asthma disease phenotypes to improve prediction and management of these common disorders; and (4) identifying and testing new treatments for allergic diseases.
Dr. Khurana Hershey has trained over 80 trainees in her laboratory and 14 of her trainees now hold independent academic faculty positions. Collectively, her trainees have gone on to secure 39 external grants and publish over 500 manuscripts. Dr. Khurana Hershey has a proven track record in team science and managing large interdisciplinary research programs including as PI of an NIH U19 Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Center (AADCRC) for the last 13 years. She currently serves as chair of the NIH Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers Steering Committee. She has been continuously funded for nearly 20 years and has published over 170 articles in top journals. In addition to her U19, she leads numerous R01s and U01’s including as the Cincinnati PI of the NIH Inner City Asthma Consortium and the Environmental Child Health Outcomes Program. She also successfully directed the state-wide Ohio Childrens’ Hospital Research Collaborative Asthma Initiative, which includes the 6 major Children’s’ Hospitals in the state of Ohio. Dr. Khurana Hershey is an internationally recognized expert in pediatric asthma, allergy and immunology, and environmental health. Over the past 2 decades, she has established several large innovative longitudinal population cohorts focused on asthma and allergic disorders including the first US cohort of children with atopic dermatitis.
Dr. Khurana Hershey has been recognized with numerous awards and honors. This year she was awarded the Drake Medal by the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the highest honor that the College of Medicine bestows. She was also awarded the Washington University Medical School Alumni Achievement Award this year. Last year, she was recognized with the Cincinnati Children’s Senior Faculty Award for Research Achievement. And in 2015, she was awarded the World Allergy Organization Scientific Achievement Award. She has also been named One of the Five Leading Women in Healthcare in the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Area by Women’s Business Cincinnati Magazine.
gurjit.hershey@cchmc.org