2023 Grantees
Alan P. Baptist, MD, MPH, FACAAI
Treatment For Mild Asthma: What Matters to Patients and Providers
Alan Baptist, MD, FACAAI is conducting a qualitative research project utilizing focus groups and survey data to better understand patient and provider perspectives on unanswered questions in mild asthma (i.e., care goals, side effects, financial issues, etc.) The project aims to assist primary care providers and asthma specialists in diagnostic, treatment, and monitoring areas of primary importance, and to inform future asthma guidelines.
Krishan D. Chhiba, MD, PhD
Simulation-Based Training of the Emergent Management of Anaphylaxis in Clinic: A Focus on Facilitating Teamwork Among Providers
Krishan Chhiba, MD, PhD is developing and piloting a high-quality training on the immediate management of anaphylaxis for use in community settings. The modular training curriculum is based on case simulations to improve the management of anaphylaxis and enable care providers to identify and resolve latent safety threats. The intervention helps to normalize the debriefing practice and further facilitate communication for a team-based approach to management of anaphylaxis.
“Receiving this grant was an incredible opportunity and enabled my team to identify the goals, treatment preferences, and unmet needs of patients and providers with mild asthma. The results will lead to improved care and understanding for such patients. Thank you for believing in our work and helping us ensure a bright future for the specialty.”
– Alan P. Baptist, MD, FACAAI
Nerissa C. D’Silva, MD
Global Search Engine Powered by Artificial Intelligence to Improve Management of Food Allergies and Intolerances: A Digital Pilot in Marginalized Communities Across the State of Texas
Nerissa D’Silva, MD is implementing a pilot to assess and test the effectiveness of new technology to improve the management of food allergies in marginalized communities across the state of Texas. The digital tool is designed to aid patients and their families in finding and shopping for food to meet their dietary needs while helping them avoid allergic reactions. The online platform also supports allergists’ delivery of patient care and allows dieticians to identify patients’ individual food allergies and sensitivities to develop personalized diets around them.
Kamran H. Imam, MD
Burden of Atopic Disorders in American Indian/Native Alaskan Populations of San Diego County
Kamran Imam, MD, is embarking on a retrospective study to determine the prevalence of atopic diseases among American Indian/Native Alaskans (AI/NA) in the local urban indigenous population of San Diego. Since most prior studies have focused on health care disparities between ethnic minorities and the general population, this project generates much needed data on allergic diseases in the AI/NA population.
Matthew R. McCulloch, MD
Indoor Air Quality and the Home Environment in Children With Asthma
Matthew McCulloch, MD, has designed a project to study the relationship between poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and asthma. The project uses indoor air quality sensors placed in the homes of children with asthma to generate reliable and descriptive IAQ data over an extended time. The data is coupled with home environment and asthma control survey data to identify potential sources of indoor air pollution and its association with asthma disease status.
Andrea A. Pappalardo, MD, FACAAI
Stock Inhaler Programming: Improving Access to Critical Asthma Medications in Rural Schools
Andrea Pappalardo, MD, FACAAI is devising a community engagement strategy to facilitate school-based asthma management (and establishment of stock inhaler programs) in rural schools so school staff are prepared to respond to asthma emergencies and connect children to guideline-based care. She engages with key informants from various governmental, advocacy, community, and professional organizations that regularly interface with rural schools on health-related concerns. She also is seeking the help of the Center for Rural Health in the Illinois Department of Public Health and the University of Illinois’ Rural Health programs.
“The Allergists’ Foundation has received a strong response to our call for proposals under the Community Grant Program, which makes our job of selecting projects for funding very challenging,” said Todd Mahr, MD, FACAAI, the chair of the Foundation’s Grants Allocation Committee. We are very much impressed with the quality and creativity of the proposals we’ve received so far and we look forward to seeing more project ideas with each new grant cycle.”
To learn more about the Community Grant Program and how you can help support it, download the brochure or contact us for more information.
