{% include "navbar.html" %}

Junior Members Association News Archive

December 2019

EAACI Junior Members Representatives at ISMA 2019

The 8th edition of the International Symposium on Molecular Allergology (ISMA) took place last December in Amsterdam. The venue gathered international physicians and researchers from all over the world, whom contributed discussing the application of allergen molecules in the field of allergy diagnosis and immunotherapy.

EAACI JM Board Representatives attended ISMA and promoted the interaction between Junior Members. Indeed, Drs. Leticia de las Vecillas (Allergy Diagnosis & Systems Medicine IG JM Representative) and Mattia Giovannini (Allergen Immunotherapy IG JM Representative), organized the JM Social Event, which was very enjoyable. JMs at ISMA were proactive with poster and oral communications as well as having insightful discussions with participants.
Image: Poster session at ISMA
Image: Drs. Giovannini and De las Vecillas
Image: JM social event at ISMA

EAACI Food Allergy School Paris

The latest EAACI Food Allergy School took place in Paris last November. The event was attended by more than 100 participants from 38 countries; 39 abstracts were received, of which 7 were presented as oral communications. EAACI JMs had the opportunity to learn about the latest trends and novelties in food allergy.

The Food Allergy School included sessions on epidemiology and diagnosis of food allergy, pathophysiology of eosinophilic oesophagitis and non-IgE mediated food allergies, medical and dietary management of food allergies, and future therapeutic approaches for food allergy. Additionally, during interactive workshops different topics were discussed and clinical cases were presented, leading to interactive conversations and brainstorming.

Our EAACI JM Board Representatives, Drs. Beatriz Moya (Food Allergy Interest Group), Burcin Beken (Paediatrics Section), and Alessandra Arcolaci (Drug Allergy Interest Group) attended the school and had the opportunity, with other JMs, to collaborate and share ideas with experts from all over the world.
Image: Poster session at the Food Allergy School
Image: Clinical case discussion at the Food Allergy School
Image: Drs. Arcolaci, Moya and Beken (from left to right) at the Food Allergy School

01 November 2019

Kranoyarsk Science Centre (Krasnoyarsk, Russia)

Dr. Anna Barilo is a senior scientist in the Clinical Pathophysiology lab at the Krasnoyarsk Science Centre. This research centre belongs to the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science (Scientific Research Institute of Medical Problems of the North).

Her laboratory is equipped with several flow cytometers and microscopes that allow her team to perform a wide range of cytological techniques. Dr. Barilo´s research focus is on the clinical, immunological and genetic features of immune disorders such as psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. She is particularly interested in the identification of markers of disease progression in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
Image: Dr. Barilo at the Krasnoyarsk Science Centre.

JM representatives attended the ERS meeting in Madrid!

Recently, the annual meeting of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) took place in Madrid (Spain). It is the most attended European congress on respiratory tract diseases. Our JM representatives Dr. Alessandra Arcolaci (Drug Allergy interest group), Dr. Cristina Boccabella (Asthma section) and Dr. Ibón Eguíluz Gracia (past JMA chair) were there. They discussed with the ERS JM representatives, in a friendly and productive joint meeting, about how to improve the collaboration between the JMs of the ERS and EAACI... work in progress!
Image: JMs from EAACI and ERS

13 October 2019

Department of Paediatrics at the University Hospital of Ioannina, Greece

Dr. Maria Kostaras is a resident of paediatrics at the University Hospital of Ioannina. The head of her department is Dr. Sophia Tsabouri, who is also the chair of the Greek Paediatric Allergy Society. The outpatient and inpatient services provide treatment to allergic patients within a wide region of Northwest Greece. They perform a number of medical techniques including skin tests (skin prick tests and atopy patch tests), blood tests (CAP-RAST), spirometry, FeNo, oral food challenges, drug provocation tests and immunotherapy.

Dr. Kostaras is also a PhD student in the field of paediatric allergy, focusing on genetics and food allergy. Specifically, she investigates epigenetic factors that affect the development of food allergy. In addition, she has participated in annual national meetings of the Greek Paediatric Allergy Society for the last two years and has shared her research findings with other scientists and clinicians.
Image: Dr. Kostaras’ clinic
Image: Dr. Kostaras’ clinic

EAACI JM Collaboration with the Turkish Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Asthma (CAAAD)

The JM representatives Drs. Pasquale Comberiati (JMA secretary), Ibón Eguíluz-Gracia (Past JMA chairperson) and Burcin Beken (JM Pediatric section representative) recently attended the Symposium on Novel Insights in Allergy with Young Allergists, organized by CAAAD. The symposium took place in Bursa (Turkey), with a total of 307 participants. Drs. Nihat Sapan (chair) and Şükrü Çekiç (young chair) organized round table sessions in which young clinicians discussed therapeutic approaches for asthma, atopic dermatitis, anaphylaxis and food allergy.

The EAACI JMs participated in the Symposium: Drs. Alberto Álvarez-Perea and Stefania Arasi explained the process of oral tolerance in food allergy; Dr. Eguíluz-Gracia gave an overview of the “precision medicine” topic and its implication in severe asthma; Drs. Beken and Simona Barni focused on the clinical manifestation and severity predictors of anaphylaxis; and Dr. Comberiati covered the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of atopic dermatitis.

The Symposium was an excellent opportunity for educational development and scientific training for the attendees, whom gained insight into the most recent advances in the treatment and prevention of asthma and allergic diseases.
Image: The JM group
Image: The JM group
Image: The JM group

15 September 2019

Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic-IRCSS of Rome, Italy

Dr. Cristina Boccabella is the new JMA Asthma Section Representative. She works at the Asthma Centre that is part of the Pneumology Unit, directed by Dr. Richeldi, at the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic in Rome (Italy). This Severe Asthma Excellence Centre supports training, research and translation of findings for severe asthma management. Here, Dr. Boccabella, together with her colleagues, strives to provide the best care to patients using the latest diagnostic tools and treatment strategies. Main activities comprise the diagnosis of severe asthma through respiratory function tests, impulse oscillometry, challenge tests, allergic and rhino-sinus comorbidities evaluation. A multidisciplinary team, composed also by allergists and ENT specialists, approaches all cases with “precision medicine”; this requires assessment of airway pathobiology using specific biomarkers, and the evaluation of a targeted therapy with the biologics. Moreover, an Emergency Outpatient Service guarantees care assistance dealing with emergencies related to asthma exacerbations and treatments’ side effects.

Dr. Boccabella has research experience in asthma. She has been at the Imperial College of London (UK) involved in MyAirCoach-Horizon-2020, a project focused on the use of telemedicine in uncontrolled asthmatics. She is an active member of the Asthma Centre Unit, coordinated by Dr. Bonini. The Asthma Centre Unit is one of the partners of the Severe Asthma Network Italy (SANI) project, the major observational study of severe asthmatics of Italy. She is involved in studies aiming to better define asthma endotypes, their pathobiological behaviour and molecular mechanisms. Other scientific interests include testing new targeted treatments, especially for “T2low severe asthma”, evaluating small airways involvement by body plethismography and the impact of comorbidities such as bronchiectasis and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.
Image: Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic
Image: Asthma Centre group
Image: Dr. Boccabella Cristina

Meet a New JM Representative

Today we talk to Dr. Beatriz Moya, the newly elected JM Representative of the Food Allergy Interest Group!

Dr. Moya studied medicine at San Pablo CEU University in Madrid (Spain). She is a 4th year resident specializing in allergy and asthma at the 12 de Octubre Hospital (Madrid), which is highly specialized and equipped with over 1,300-inpatient beds.

As part of her residency, Dr. Moya treats different allergies (food and drug allergies, skin allergies, rhinoconjunctivitis, etc.) as well as severe asthma at their excellence-certified, highly specialized Severe Asthma Unit. She performs drug allergy desensitizations either in the hospital’s walk-in clinic or in the intensive care unit. Also, the Allergy Unit receives daily consultations with a variety of patients referred from other specialties in the hospital.

Dr. Moya completed a rotation in the Children’s Allergy Unit at Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús (Madrid); in January 2020, she will be doing a severe asthma fellowship at St. Joseph’s Hospital-McMaster University in Hamilton (Canada).
Image: Part of the Allergy Unit team at 12 de Octubre Hospital
Image: Dr. Moya at 12 de Octubre Hospital
Image: Allergy Unit at 12 de Octubre Hospital

20 July 2019

Meet a New JM Representative

Today we get to know better Dr. Aspasia Karavelia, the new elected JM Representative of the ENT Section.

Dr. Karavelia is a senior ENT medical trainee. She studied medicine at the Medical School of Crete (Greece) and obtained a Master in “International medicine-health crisis management” from the Medical School of Athens (Greece). Also, she is finishing a second Master in “Rhinology, skull base and face area pathologies” in a joint program of the University of Patras (Greece) and the Medical School of Athens.

Dr. Karavelia currently works at the Chaina General Hospital “St George” in Crete (Greece). Here, she treats a wide spectrum of ENT pathologies. Furthermore, she provides special care at the Allergy and Endoscopy Clinic to patients with allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyps; this requires procedures such as nasal rigid endoscopy, 4-phase rhinomanometry, skin prick tests, immunotherapy as well as surgical therapies.

In addition, Dr. Karavelia is a JM Representative of the European Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ESPO) and a Hellenic Red Cross volunteer.
Image: : Chaina General Hospital “St George”
Image: Dr. Karavelia (first on the left) with some team members
Image: Dr. Karavelia’s Allergy and Endoscopy Clinic

Time Travel!

Let’s travel in time, back to the year 2001!

Who was part of the JMA board chaired by Susanna Olsson from 2001-2003? What kind of professional endeavours were taken by this line-up of JMs since then?

Well, here are some facts that you may find interesting:

- Iona Agache, our past EAACI President, was the Webmaster, and Stefano del Giacco, our current EAACI VP Education & Specialty, was the Immunology Section Representative.

- A young postdoctoral fellow that later would shake the field of immunology with seminal discoveries was the Asthma Section Representative. Can you guess who? You may have read his recent publication on Charcot-Leyden crystals... And he is a full professor at Ghent University (Belgium), like Philippe Gevaert, the ENT Section Representative at the time.

- The Dermatology Section Representative, Ulrike Raap, kept her scientific interests and is currently the Head of the Experimental Allergology and Immunodermatology Division at Oldenburg University (Germany). Likewise, Katharina Blumchen, the Pediatric Section Representative, is now affiliated with the Dept. of Children and Adolescent Medicine at the University Hospital Frankfurt (Germany).

Given that the JMs represent the future of EAACI, it is certainly encouraging to see that many of the leaders in the field that we now look up to, were once, not that long ago, part of the JMA.