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President’s Message

Creating a Culture of Innovation in Leadership
Ensuring the future of the AAAAI and the allergy/immunology specialty is tied to our ability as an organization to enhance leadership recruitment and opportunities. With this goal rooted in the current AAAAI Strategic Plan, we have been working to create a culture of innovation in leadership, a theme that is weaved throughout many of the stories in this issue of Impact.
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David A. Khan, MD, FAAAAI
It starts with our Cover Story on Zachary Rubin, MD, who has leveraged the power of social media and “going viral” to creatively educate patients and the general public about A/I diseases and treatment while combating health misinformation.
It continues with the hard work of Anna H. Nowak-Wegrzyn, MD, PhD, FAAAAI, a member of the AAAAI Board of Directors, who after years of perseverance is the first researcher to receive funding from the National Institutes of Health to study the immunology of Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES). By deciphering the mechanisms of FPIES reactions, the hope is that this research will lead to a better diagnostic test and better treatment options for the increasing number of patients affected by this misunderstood condition.
You will also get to know in a more personal way, the eight candidates—including our Secretary-Treasurer candidates Frank Virant, MD, FAAAAI, and Christopher C. Randolph, MD, FAAAAI—who are looking to become the next leaders elected to serve on the AAAAI Board of Directors. Each has their own vision for the future of the AAAAI and the specialty, highlighting the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and approaches represented throughout the AAAAI community.
Just as diversity is key to creating a culture of innovation in leadership, so is investing in leadership training. Joel S. Klein, MD, FAAAAI, and Edwin H. Kim, MD, FAAAAI, members who recently participated in the AAAAI Leadership Forum, a presidential initiative of Giselle S. Mosnaim, MD, MS, FAAAAI, have shared insights into what they learned that you can use on your own leadership journey.
Iris M. Otani, MD, FAAAAI, discusses both the tangible and intangible outcomes of attending the AAAAI Leadership Institute Course, which allowed her to learn real-life leadership strategies she could immediately put into practice, and helped her achieve success in her new role as the Medical Director of Adult Allergy/Immunology at UCSF Medical Center.
Whether it involves transformative education, cutting-edge clinical and translational research, bringing about positive change for our patients and specialty through impactful advocacy, or providing resources to practicing allergists to build and grow their practices, the AAAAI is committed to ensuring there are opportunities for members to become leaders in A/I and contribute to advancing our specialty. I encourage you to use these opportunities, which are made possible by your AAAAI membership, to give back to the specialty that has given you so much.
Sincerely,
David A. Khan, MD, FAAAAI AAAAI President president@aaaai.org