Your health and safety remain our top priority: Learn about our Safe Care Commitment | Use our Prescreen app before arrival for faster entry | Read the COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs
Header Skipped.
Welcome to the Allergy & Immunology Fellowship Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Our mission is to train the next generation of academic leaders and physician-scientists addressing the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of allergic and immune-mediated disease. We advance the career development of our fellows through outstanding clinical and educational programs, our diverse and highly collaborative research environment, team mentoring, and strong institutional support. Our program has made pioneering advancements in Allergy and Immunology for more than 50 years.
We are proud of the success of our graduates, who include more than 90 full Professors, four past Presidents of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, and many prominent young faculty around the country. Over 75% of our graduates in the past ten years hold full-time faculty positions at US Medical Schools, most of whom are actively engaged in research. We look forward to continuing this tradition and developing the next generation of innovators in science and medicine.
We accept outstanding residents who have completed training in either Pediatrics or Medicine into our ACGME-accredited program. The first 12 months are focused on clinical training across the inpatient and outpatient settings and include rotations through our Severe Asthma Program, Mastocytosis Center, Drug Hypersensitivity and Desensitization Center, Immunodeficiency Clinic, and Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease (AERD) Center. Fellows will manage patients with a wide spectrum of disorders including primary immunodeficiencies, autoimmune disorders, hereditary angioedema, anaphylaxis, food allergy, eosinophilic disease, drug allergy, asthma, and mastocytosis.
In transitioning to the research component (supported for 2-3 years by a National Institute of Health Training Grant), fellows can pursue a broad variety of approaches including cellular and molecular immunology, genomics and metabolomics, clinical epidemiology and population science, bioinformatics, and clinical trials. See the Current Fellows to find out how our trainees are taking advantage of the unparalleled research and training opportunities available in the Longwood Academic and Medical area, home to leading institutions such as Harvard Medical School, Channing Division of Network Medicine, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, in addition to Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Chief, Allergy/Immunology
Program Director, Allergy/Immunology Fellowship
Associate Program Director, Allergy/Immunology Fellowship
Overview
Our clinical training emphasizes evidence-based medicine, the achievements and limitations of current immune-modulating therapies, and the biological insights to be gained by applying cutting-edge science to clinical disease. Our approach to developing the next generation of academic leaders begins in the first year. Fellows are exposed to diverse clinical experiences across the ambulatory and inpatient settings, and guided to refine their clinical observations and develop a line of independent academic inquiry.
Ambulatory Rotations
In the first year, fellows evaluate patients in a variety of ambulatory settings including the Brigham Hale Building for Transformative Medicine, the main Ambulatory Allergy practice at Chestnut Hill, Boston Children’s Hospital, Newton Wellesley Pediatrics, and the Brigham and DFCI Infusion Centers, giving them broad exposure to diverse pediatric and adult patient populations. In addition, trainees rotate through related subspecialties including Dermatology, ENT, Ophthalmology, Pulmonary, and Rheumatology. Fellows will have specific teaching in skin testing, immunotherapy, pulmonary function testing, and sinus and chest imaging. Through these rotations, our fellows get experience diagnosing and managing primary immunodeficiencies, autoimmune disorders, hereditary angioedema, anaphylaxis, food allergy, eosinophilic disease, drug allergy, and mastocytosis, as well as asthma, rhinitis, and nasal polyposis.
In the second year, fellows build a longitudinal clinic with a faculty member of their choice, fulfilling ACGME requirements. Most fellows choose to continue these clinics throughout their research years. Additional electives include rotations on the Immunodeficiency and Bone Marrow Transplantation Service at Children’s Hospital, and clinics in Pulmonary Medicine, Contact Dermatitis, Atopic Dermatitis, and beyond, as determined by fellow interest.
Inpatient Experience
The inpatient Brigham Allergy/Immunology Consultation Service provides an additional opportunity to diagnose and manage patients in acute settings, to work closely with clinical faculty, and to teach the house staff. Our service sees several hundred consults a year. Call is shared among first and second year fellows. Common consultations include the diagnosis and management of: drug allergy, hypereosinophilic syndromes, angioedema, immunodeficiency, and anaphylaxis.
Multidisciplinary Programs
We have several clinical initiatives addressing the complex patients referred to our tertiary care center:
The Severe Asthma Program, part of the Mass General Brigham Asthma Center, brings together a team of allergists and pulmonologists who work in collaboration with specialists in Otolaryngology, Gastroenterology, and Psychiatry to help manage patients whose asthma has been difficult to control with conventional therapy.
The Aspirin Exacerbated Respiratory Disease Center, advances education, research, and treatment for patients with the hallmark triad of nasal polyposis, asthma, and sensitivity to aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
The Immunodeficiency Clinic is staffed by a team of experts who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with diverse immune defects and their autoimmune complications including common variable immunodeficiency, granulomatous lymphocytic lung disease, chronic granulomatous disease, CD4 lymphocytopenia, and other forms of primary and secondary immunodeficiencies.
The Drug Hypersensitivity and Desensitization Center is a comprehensive multidisciplinary team that evaluates and cares for 300-400 patients per year with adverse reactions to chemotherapy and monoclonal antibodies, as well as other biological agents. They perform nearly 1,000 desensitizations per year across inpatient and ambulatory settings.
The Mastocytosis Center, which includes physicians in Allergy/Immunology, Hematology/Oncology, Gastroenterology, and Pathology, provides genetic testing, histologic and flow cytometric diagnoses, and targeted treatments for children and adults with a range of mast cell disorders from urticaria pigmentosa to mastocytosis and mast cell leukemia.
The Food Allergy Center offers families with children at high-risk for the development of food allergy the opportunity to reduce this risk through early introduction in carefully characterized patients.
Clinical Curriculum
Didactic conferences are held on a regularly scheduled basis and include:
Overview
Our mission is to train the next generation of physician-scientists spanning a broad range of approaches. See examples of our recent publications in molecular immunology (Regulation of the Immunoglobulin Repertoire, CD1d Lipid Antigen Structure), translational medicine (Epithelial Progenitor Dysregulation in Nasal Polyposis, Microbial Lipids in Food Allergy), and clinical trials (Prasugrel in AERD, KIT in Asthma). Through a National Institute of Health-funded training grant (held for the past 50 years) and additional institutional funding, we fully support fellow research for up to three years. In the last 10 years, we have helped to develop 21 full-time academic faculty members (over 75% of our graduates). Our fellows benefit from an integrated Research Training Program, as well as a large number of dedicated research faculty mentors, and the highly dynamic and collaborative research environment that spans institutions in and around the Longwood area. Through these mechanisms, we are committed to helping our trainees develop independent investigative careers.
Program Environment
The Inflammation and Allergic Disease Section, headed by Dr. Boyce, is located on the 5th floor of the BWH Hale Building for Transformative Medicine. Research within the group includes mechanisms of inflammation, eicosanoid biology, immunoregulation, mucosal and lymphocyte biology, genomic medicine, clinical trials, and population research. Fellows may choose to work in these areas. Additionally, some fellows work with investigators from a host of other divisions and research institutions including:
Channing Division of Network Medicine
Brigham Rheumatology and Clinical Sciences
Harvard Medical School Division of Immunology
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The collaborative BWH research environment includes a variety of initiatives across institutions. The Brigham Asthma Collaborative Research Group is one such example. Members of this program, including immunologists, airway biologists and researchers pursuing genomics, metabolomics, database research, and clinical trials, share and facilitate research on asthma. Additionally, several laboratories participate in ImmGen, a consortium of immunologists and computational biologists dedicated to understanding gene expression and regulation underlying immunity. Fellows also benefit from several outstanding seminar series featuring internationally-recognized speakers including the Seminars in Molecular and Genomic Medicine, hosted by the BWH Department of Genetics and the Wednesday Immunology Seminar Series, hosted by the Harvard Medical School Committee on Immunology.
Mentoring
A strength of our fellowship program lies in the diversity of outstanding research faculty mentors available to fellows, and their commitment to training (please see Research Faculty Mentors section). Typically, trainees have both junior and senior research mentors to facilitate their development. In addition to regularly scheduled one-on-one and laboratory-wide meetings with primary faculty mentors, trainees present at twice yearly Scientific Advisory Committee meetings and at regularly scheduled Allergy Immunology Research Seminars to get broader feedback.
Career Development
Through the Allergy Immunology Section, the Harvard Catalyst, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Brigham Center for Clinical Investigation, all fellows receive an introduction to statistical methods, clinical study design, scientific writing and presentation, and grantsmanship. For fellows interested in translational medicine, clinical trials, or database research, there are programs from several days to several months in duration addressing advanced biostatistics, informatics, and trial implementation. Additionally, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and the newly expanded Brigham Research Institute offer seminars and services for developing investigators on diverse topics from lab management, to contract negotiations, research licensing, and advertising on social media.
In addition to our T32 training grant, support for junior investigators include intramural sources such as the Jeff and Penny Vinik Center for Allergic Disease Research and the Joycelyn C. Austen Fund for the Support of Women in Science. Our commitment to the research and support of junior investigators is also reflected in the success of our graduates in competing for both National Institutes of Health (NIH) and foundation awards. In the past five years, our recent trainees have received 6 NIH R01s, 9 K grants, and 8 foundation awards. See examples of recent awards below:
Dr. Lora Bankova was the recipient of the 2017 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Foundation Faculty Development Award for her project entitled “A Novel Cysteinyl Leukotriene Pathway for Control of Epithelial Cell Differentiation and Function”. She was also awarded an NIH K08 (2017) for her project “The Cysteinyl Leukotriene E4 Receptor GPR99 Orchestrates Airway Epithelial Cell Differentiation and Type 2 Pulmonary Inflammation”.
Dr. Katie Buchheit was the recipient of a 2017 NIH opportunity fund grant for work on “Characterization of Mast Cells in Nasal Polyp Tissue”.
Dr. Katherine Cahill was the recipient of an NIH K23 titled “The Role of Prostaglandin D2 In the Respiratory Symptoms of Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease”, awarded in 2015. Dr. Cahill received a BWH Department of Medicine Innovation Evergreen Award (2018) for her work on the “Therapeutic Benefit of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor (GLP-1R) Agonists in Asthma”.
Dr. Juan Carlos Cardet received NIH K23 (2017) for his project titled “Enterolactone And Asthma”.
Dr. Matthew Giannetti received the 2018 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and Mastocytosis Society Research Award in Pediatric Mastocytosis for his project “Identification of Novel Pathways in the Transcriptome of Human Mast Cells from Children and Adults with Cutaneous Mastocytosis”.
Dr. Margee Louisas was selected as the 2018 H. Richard Nesson Fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital for her project, “Adapting a Multifaceted School-Based Intervention to Reduce Asthma Exacerbations in Ethnic Minority Children”. She was also an NIH K12 recipient (2016), awarded for Child and Family Centered Outcomes Research.
Dr. Lakiea Wright received an NIH F32 (2014) and an NIH U01 Supplement (2016) on “Sleep Disordered Breathing and Asthma Morbidity in Inner City School Children”.
Anderson, Paul J., MD/PhD Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Rheumatology
The Anderson lab focuses on post-transcriptional mechanisms that control the production of inflammatory mediators.
Barrett, Nora A., MD Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Allergy Immunology
The Barrett lab is interested in defining the innate cellular and molecular networks underlying the initiation and persistence of type 2 immunity at mucosal sites.
Bankova, Lora G., MD Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Allergy Immunology
Dr. Bankova focuses on the control of epithelial barrier function by mast cells and their products.
Boyce, Joshua A., MD Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Allergy Immunology
The Boyce lab is focused on cross-talk between eicosanoid receptor systems in pulmonary inflammation, using a combination of cellular, molecular, whole animal, and human translational approaches.
Brennan, Patrick J., MD, PhD Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Allergy Immunology
Dr. Brennan focuses on the role of innate-like T cells in allergic disease and host defense.
Brenner, Michael B., MD Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Rheumatology
The Brenner laboratory works on lipid and glycolipid antigens recognized in the context of CD1 antigen-presenting molecules, T cell recognition, and inflammatory arthritis.
Costenbader, Karen H., MD, MPH Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Rheumatology, Clinical Sciences
Dr. Costenbader’s research focuses on epidemiologic risk factors for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and outcomes among patients with autoimmune disease.
Israel, Elliot, MD Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Pulmonary
Dr. Israel’s major research interests include mediators of airway reactivity, the role of arachidonic acid metabolites in airway narrowing, and genetic influences in asthma pharmacotherapeutics, particularly as they relate to responses to beta-agonists.
Karlson, Elizabeth W., MD Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Rheumatology, Clinical Sciences
Dr. Karlson’s research focuses on the environmental risk factors for SLE and RA, and the causes of long-term complications of these diseases, such as atherosclerosis, and their prevention.
Laidlaw, Tanya M., MD. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Allergy Immunology
Dr. Laidlaw Directs Translational Research in Allergy and the Aspirin Exacerbated Respiratory Disease (AERD) Center at BWH. She combines clinical interventions with benchside approaches to understand the pathogenetic basis of AERD.
Levy, Bruce D., MD. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Pulmonary
The Levy laboratory focuses on bioactive lipid mediators that regulate inflammation.
Moody, D. Branch, MD. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Rheumatology
The Moody laboratory studies the molecular and in vivo mechanisms by which CD1 and lipids activate T cells during allergy, autoimmune and infection.
Raychaudhuri, Soumya, MD, PhD Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Rheumatology
Dr. Raychaudhuri is a pioneer of integrative technologies that allows genetic data to be interpreted in the context of functional genomic data.
Weiss, Scott T., MD, MS. Channing Division of Network Medicine
Dr. Weiss focuses on the genetics/epidemiology of asthma and complex diseases, pharmacogenetics/genomics, and bioinformatics.
Wesemann, Duane R., MD, PhD Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Allergy Immunology
The Wesemann lab studies the process of primary immunoglobulin repertoire diversification and how environmental factors, such as commensal microbes and diet, may influence the structure and depth of this diversity. The lab is particularly interested in how exposures early in life may shape this process.
For the most up-to-date listing, please see the following PDF.
For the most up-to-date listing, please see the following PDF.
For the most up-to-date listing, please see the following PDF.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital is located in the Longwood Medical Area, home to a thriving academic community with Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital, the Channing Division of Network Medicine, and the T. H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health. Surrounded by the communities of the South End, Jamaica Plain, and Brookline, the area offers many safe and green places for young people to live in close proximity to work. While the greater Boston and Cambridge area is known for biotechnology and healthcare, Boston boasts many other cultural attractions. Here are a few helpful links to the great City of Boston:
Outdoor activities
Art, Music, and Nightlife
Sports
Joanne Miccile
Program Contact
60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA 02115
Phone: 617-525-1302
Fax: 617-525-1310
Email: jmiccile@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
David Hong, MD
Director, Allergy Immunology Fellowship
60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA 02115
Phone: 617-525-1232
Fax: 617-525-1310
Email: dhong@bwh.harvard.edu
For over a century, a leader in patient care, medical education and research, with expertise in virtually every specialty of medicine and surgery.
About BWH
