Allergy/Immunology

Specializing in treating allergic disorders and asthma.

The Allergy/Immunology Program of Rady Children’s Specialists of San Diego provides comprehensive care for children with allergic immune disorders, conducts cutting-edge research, and is actively involved in professional organizations that advance treatment and research in the field.

Our services are provided at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego and satellite offices in San Diego and Riverside counties. At the Hospital, we offer clinics for various allergic disorders, including specialized clinics for food allergy, immunodeficiency disorders, eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders, and periodic fevers. The latter two clinics were the first of their kind in the western United States.

Our food allergy clinic is directed by Stephanie Leonard, M.D., who trained at Mt. Sinai Hospital under the tutelage of Hugh Sampson, M.D., one of the world’s foremost authorities on food allergies. Dr. Leonard has also published research in the emerging science of food desensitization and induction of tolerance.

Research and clinical trials are a major focus of our Division and have led to the development of promising treatments. Translational research by Harold Hoffman, M.D., for example, led to the approval of a therapy for a cold-induced autoinflammatory disorder. And a novel steroid preparation invented by Seema Aceves, M.D., Ph.D., John Bastian, M.D., and Ranjan Dohil, M.D., (Gastroenterology) is in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis.

Additionally, our specialists have multiple roles in local and national organizations, with the goal of improving the lives of children with allergy/immunology disorders. These organizations include the Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, American Lung Foundation (through the Asthma Camp), The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, and American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders.

Division Achievements:

Harold Hoffman, M.D., recently co-discovered the gene for a cold urticarial (hives) syndrome that he originally described. His findings were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Anthony Horner, M.D., recently published work identifying a novel role for house dust in the activation of NKT (natural killer T) cells, which are important in development of airway inflammation. This work was featured on the cover of the Journal of Experimental Medicine and reviewed in the Journal of Asthma Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Seema Aceves, M.D., Ph.D., was the senior author on recently published international guidelines for the diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis in adults and children.