Editorial introductions

Abstract

Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology was launched in 2001. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The fields of allergy and clinical immunology are divided into 14 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Journal's Section Editors for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Bernard Y.-H. ThongBernard Y.-H. ThongDr Thong graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1994. He subsequently went on to complete his senior residency in Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology/Allergy at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore from 1999–2002. This was followed by a clinical fellowship in paediatric and adult clinical immunology/allergy at the University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital, United Kingdom from 2002–2003. He is Head and Senior Consultant at the Department of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital; Adjunct Associate Professor and Lead for Rheumatology and Academic Quality at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. He has authored/co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications in clinical immunology/allergy and rheumatology. He is President of the Allergy and Clinical Immunology Society (Singapore), international fellow and member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology's Adverse Reactions to Drugs, Biologicals and Latex Committee; and member of the World Allergy Organization's Anaphylaxis Special Committee. He is also a member of the editorial board for the journal Allergy. Miguel BlancaMiguel BlancaDr Miguel Blanca graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Spain, in 1975. He undertook specialist training in allergy from 1976 to 1979 at Carlos Haya Hospital, Malaga, Spain, in the Department of Internal Medicine. Between 1980 and 1982 he undertook further training in allergy and immunology at the Middlesex Hospital, London, UK in the department of Professor Ivan Roit. He was a staff member of the Allergy Unit at Carlos Haya Hospital from 1983 to 1999, and from 1997 to 1999 he was Director of the research unit of Carlos Haya Hospital. Between 2000 and 2003 he was Chief of the Allergy Service at La Paz Hospital, Madrid, Spain. In 2004 he was appointed as Head of the Allergy Service at Carlos Haya Hospital. He has a research group in the BIONAN instituto, Technology Park, Malaga, Spain, a center dedicated to nanomedicine and since 2011 he has been nominated associated Professor at the University of Nancy, France. Since 2008 he has also been the Director of the Spanish National Network for Adverse Reactions to Drugs and Allergens. This consist of a consortium integrated by ten hospitals and five research institutes belonging to different universities and to the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). Dr Blanca has published more than 270 original manuscripts in peer review journals and has received more than 40 grants during his carrier from National and Europeans institutions as well as the pharmaceutical industry. He is a member of the American Academy for Allergy and Immunology, the European Academy of Allergy, the Colegium Allergologicum Internationale and several Spanish national societies and research institutes. Major topics of the research are allergic drug reactions with special dedication to betalactams and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, food allergy as well as the local immune response of tissues and organs to allergens and drugs. He has been nominated recently ‘emeritus son’ by the citizens of the village where he was born, Periana (Malaga), Spain. Gianenrico SennaGianenrico SennaDr Gianenrico Senna is Director of the Allergy Unit, Verona University and General Hospital, Italy, Referral Centre for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases and GA2LEN collaboration Centre. Dr Senna first specialized in Internal Medicine at Padua University, Italy and then in Allergy and Clinical Immunology at Pavia University, Italy. Since 2006 he has been Observer Consultant at Allergy & Asthma Dept, Brompton Hospital, London UK. He conducted allergy research mainly in the field of immunotherapy, clinical and therapeutics of allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, clinical and therapeutics of asthma in adults and children, safety and tolerability of antihistamines, drug allergy, hymenoptera venom allergy and molecular allergy. He has extensively published in international journals and he also acts as a referee of many allergy journals. He is Past-President of AAITO, Italian Association of Allergists and Clinical Immunologists, and a member of the Executive Committee of Italian Federation of Allergy and Immunology Societies. Currently he serves as Vice President of SIAAIC, Italian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, he is a member of the Board of the Immunotherapy Interest Group of European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI). He is adjunct Professor of allergy and clinical immunology at the Rheumatology School of Specialization, University of Verona, Italy. Phil LiebermanPhil LiebermanPhil Lieberman, MD, is Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine in the Allergy/Immunology Division at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, Tennessee. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and did his residency in internal medicine at this institution and completed his allergy/immunology fellowship at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, Illinois. Upon completion of his fellowship Dr Lieberman returned to the University of Tennessee to found the Allergy/Immunology Division in the Department of Medicine. He is a past president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and American Association of Certified Allergists. Dr Lieberman has also served on the board of directors of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. Dr Lieberman is the author of over 225 scientific publications and Co-editor of the text Allergic Diseases. His present investigative interests are in the fields of asthma and anaphylaxis. David A. KhanDavid A. KhanDr David A. Khan is Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, USA. He is the Program Director for the Allergy & Immunology fellowship program at Southwestern. Dr Khan is a past president of the Texas Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Society. He is also a member of the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters for Allergy & Immunology. Dr Khan received his medical degree from the University of Illinois in Chicago, USA. After completing an internal medicine residency at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, he went on to complete fellowship training in allergy & immunology at the Mayo Clinic, USA. His research interests include rush immunotherapy, drug allergy, mood disorders in asthma and alternative therapies for refractory chronic urticaria. Enrico CompalatiEnrico CompalatiDr Compalati, MD, PhD, graduated in 2001 from Medical School at the University of Genoa, Italy. After his residency in internal medicine, he received his degree in Allergy and Clinical Immunology in 2005. His post-graduate experiences include a PhD-doctorate in Clinical-Experimental Allergy & Respiratory Physiopathology achieved in 2009 and a Master course in Immunotherapy of Allergic and Respiratory Diseases at the same University in 2011. In 2009 he was visiting fellow at the department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics of the McMaster University, ON, Canada. Currently he is clinician allergist at the Allergy and Respiratory Diseases Clinic of the Genoa University, Italy, nationally qualified as associate professor and with particular interests in allergen specific immunotherapy, allergic inflammation, pharmacotherapy of respiratory allergy, food allergy and impact of allergic conditions on health-related quality of life. His scientific activity is mainly focused on the evidence-based methodology of research and clinical trials applied to allergy and respiratory diseases. He is a Cochrane Collaboration's author for the Airways Group, and published several independent systematic reviews, metanalyses and methodological articles. He collaborated with the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group. From 2008 to February 2014, he was a member of the committee of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) for the Evidence Based Medicine and Methodology and served as author for the Allergy Prevalence Survey by the World Allergy Organization 2007, the WAO Sublingual Immunotherapy Position Paper 2009 and 2013 update, the WAO Diagnosis and Rationale for Action against Cow's Milk Allergy (DRACMA) Guidelines 2010. He is member of the interest group for immunotherapy of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), International member of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and member of the Panel for Italian Guidelines on Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA). Also an associate faculty member of F1000 for Asthma & Allergic Rhinitis, he is author of different publications in peer-reviewed journals and served as lecturer and chair at national and international congresses.