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Building Careers, Connections and Essential A/I Programming
Building Careers, Connections and Essential A/I Programming
The impacts of interest section involvement
Jill A. Poole, MD, FAAAAI
For Jill A. Poole, MD, FAAAAI, the Environmental & Occupational Respiratory Diseases (EORD) Interest Section, which she is currently chair of, has been an integral part of her career in allergy/immunology.
“EORD has been my home within the AAAAI for almost 20 years and has been instrumental in building my career,” she said. “EORD has offered me such great networking and collaborations over the years as well as meaningful friendships across the world.”
Connections made through interest section involvement can change careers and lead to incredible projects that can improve the lives of patients living with allergic diseases. Many of the AAAAI’s committees fall under one of the interest sections, and work done by these groups provides essential resources for AAAAI members, including teaching slides, work group reports and more.
Interest Section Forum Changes For 2025
To encourage more networking within interest sections, during the 2025 AAAAI / WAO Joint Congress, February 28 – March 3 in San Diego, CA, USA, Interest Section Forums will be changing to “Get to Know Your Interest Section” sessions. Each session will include the interest sections’ business meeting, and light refreshments will be served. The speaker talks usually held during Interest Section Forums are now pre-recorded talks, which will be available online this fall.Angela Haczku, MD, PhD, FAAAAI
“Joining an interest section allows you to enrich your career by interacting with like-minded colleagues, connecting with experts and contributing to groundbreaking discoveries. Together, we can shape the future of allergy and clinical immunology!”
The leadership of each interest section is made up of an elected team of volunteers who drive interest section initiatives including educational opportunities, networking and collaboration on specific projects and studies.
“Being involved with an interest section has been a great experience for me,” said Kimberly G. Blumenthal, MD, MSc, FAAAAI, Chair of the Anaphylaxis, Dermatology & Drug Allergy (ADDA) Interest Section. “While many of us in ADDA’s leadership were previously involved with and led AAAAI committees, being involved with ADDA has been tremendously rewarding in a different way.”
That’s because interest section work involves planning and strategizing on a larger scale. One example is the critical work of deciding on programming for the AAAAI Annual Meeting, both with session planning and abstract selection.
Kimberly G. Blumenthal, MD, MSc, FAAAAI
Dr. Blumenthal enjoys the challenge of helping plan AAAAI’s largest event of the year. “I like working with my interest section colleagues with their different expertise to craft Annual Meeting (or in 2025’s case, Joint Congress) programming that is multi-disciplinary and engaging to variable audiences. From the interest section viewpoint, we can see the big picture related to programming for the topics in our interest section and ensure that programming meets the needs of our members,” she said.
Getting started with an interest section is as simple as updating your AAAAI profile under the tab labeled Involvement. Use the dropdown menu to select your primary and secondary interest section to take the first step in getting more involved. You can learn more about the different interest sections here.
“The interest section is the heartbeat and foundation of work accomplished in the AAAAI. The specific specialty interest section committees are a platform for research and clinical collaborations, networking, mentorship and leadership development. The leadership opportunities start with the committees, and service to the AAAAI is the heart of our specialty through our interest section infrastructure. Colleagues at all levels of training are welcome!”
Lisa R. Forbes Satter, MD, FAAAAI
Vice Chair of the Interest Section Coordinating Committee
