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 ThongBernard 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, and is author or co-author of over 40 peer-reviewed publications. He is a member of the Rheumatology Specialists Training Committee, and Vice-President of the Allergy and Clinical Immunology Society (Singapore). He is also international fellow and member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology's Adverse Reactions to Drugs, Biologicals and Latex Committee; World Allergy Organization's web regional editor for the Asia Pacific, co-chair of the Drug Allergy Special Committee and member of the Anaphylaxis Special Committees. 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 he research group in the BIONAN instituto, Technology Park, Malaga, Spain, a center dedicated to nanomedicine and since 2011 he has been nominated Associate 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 consists of a consortium made up of 10 hospitals and five research institutes belonging to different universities and to the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). Dr Blanca has published more than 200 original manuscripts in peer review journals and has received more than 40 grants during his carrier from National and European 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, food allergy as well as the local immune response of tissues and organs to allergens and drugs. Theodore FreemanTheodore FreemanDr Freeman graduated from the University of South Florida College of Medicine, USA and did his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine (IM) at Jacksonville, Florida, USA and Keesler Air Force Base Medical Center, Biloxi Mississippi, USA. He completed his adult and pediatric allergy and immunology (AI) training at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Texas, USA. He did a year of clinical lab immunology (CLI) at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston USA. He was the Training Program Director of allergy/immunology fellowship at Wilford Hall from 1989 to 2004. He retired from the United States Air Force in 2001 with the rank of Colonel. Dr Freeman is board certified in IM, AI and CLI. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, American Academy of Asthma Allergy and Immunology and the American College of Asthma Allergy and Immunology. He has served on the Residency Review Committee for Allergy/Immunology (part of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) and the Advisory Council for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (part of NIH). He has also served on the Board of Governors of the Texas Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Society, and on the Board of Governors of the San Antonio Region of the American Lung Association. He has served as President of both the Society of Air Force Physicians and the Association of Uniformed Services Allergists and Immunologists. He is currently the President elect of the Texas Allergy Asthma and Immunology Society, and on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology. He is currently in the private practice of allergy and immunology in San Antonio, Texas. Ralf Günter HeineRalf Günter HeineDr Ralf G. Heine graduated from the Medical School at the University of Göttingen, Germany. After completing his residency in Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital in Bremen, Germany, he completed his training in Pediatrics at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. He then enrolled in a three-year fellowship program in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at the same hospital. Dr Heine completed a Doctor of Medicine, by thesis, on the topic of ‘Gastroesophageal reflux disease in chronic childhood illness’ at the University of Melbourne. In 1998, he took up his appointment as Pediatric Gastroenterologist in the Department of Gastroenterology & Clinical Nutrition at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. In 2000, Dr Heine also commenced clinical work as a gastroenterologist in the Department of Allergy & Immunology, and has since held joint appointments as Senior Staff Specialist in both departments. Dr Heine has been appointed as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Melbourne, and he is a Senior Research Fellow at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia. Dr Heine is a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Australasian Society of Allergy & Immunology, the American Gastroenterological Association and the Special Committee on Food Allergy of the World Allergy Organization. His clinical work and research interests have focused on aspects of cow's milk and egg allergy, anaphylaxis, gastrointestinal food allergy, food intolerances, non-IgE-mediated food allergy, infantile colic, celiac disease and eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders. Dr Heine has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles, six book chapters and has given many invited presentations at national and international scientific meetings. 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 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 from Medical School at the University of Genoa, Italy. After his residency in Internal Medicine, he received his degree in Allergy and Clinical Immunology. His post-graduate experiences include a PhD-doctorate in Clinical-Experimental Allergy & Respiratory Physiopathology and a Master course in Immunotherapy of Allergic and Respiratory Diseases at the same University. Currently he is researcher and clinician allergist at the Allergy and Respiratory Diseases Clinic of the Genoa University, with particular interests in allergen specific immunotherapy, allergic inflammation, drug therapy of respiratory allergy and impact of allergic conditions on health-related quality of life. His scientific activity is mainly focused on the evidence-based methodology applied to allergy and respiratory diseases. In this field he is co-author of several systematic reviews and was visiting fellow at the department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics of the McMaster University, ON, Canada. Since 2008 onwards, he has been 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, the WAO Diagnosis and Rationale for Action against Cow's Milk Allergy (DRACMA) Guidelines 2010. He is connected in the GA2LEN (the EU Network of Excellence in Allergy) and collaborates with the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group. 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). 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.