The Division of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology was founded in 1969 by Dr. Evelyn Hess. The division consists of two sections - allergy and rheumatology. We share common interests in basic and clinical immunology and a common mission - teaching, patient care, and research. The house staff and medical student education program is performed jointly. Separate fellowship training programs are offered for allergy/immunology and rheumatology. Both training programs are partially funded through NIH T32 training grant awards that prepare fellows for careers in research and academic medicine.

Training of house staff and medical students consists of a one month rotation with ambulatory and in-patient consultations as well as structured didactic sessions. The rheumatology/immunology rotation is one of the most highly sought after rotation by the residents due to the organization, the dedicated lecture series and the faculty teaching. The division also offers a one month rotation focusing on allergy/immunology

The rheumatology fellowship features clinical training during the first year at a variety of venues ensuring comprehensive exposure to the multiple rheumatologic disorders. The second year offers both basic and clinical research experience with multiple potential mentors. We have a close relationship with the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center's Division of Rheumatology, which provides an additional source of research opportunities.

The allergy fellowship program features three years of training, including two years of mentored basic or clinical (translational) research and one year devoted to clinical training. The clinical research track offers a unique masters degree program in molecular epidemiology that includes instruction in human genetics. The overall mission of the program is to prepare MD or MD/PhD candidates for careers in medical research.

Patient care is performed at the two major teaching institutions - University Hospital and the Veteran's Administration Hospitals plus two private practice settings. Six staff physicians participate in patient care administering to over more than 10,000 patient visits per year.

The Division of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology has well-established collaborative research programs with the Department of Environmental Health, Division of Allergy at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center; the Department of Engineering; and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health/Center for Disease Control (NIOSH/CDC). Ongoing programatic research is funded through numerous NIH grant awards from NIOSH/CDC, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

In additional to federal sources, the division is engaged in investigator-initiated research funded through several pharmaceutical companies. Special areas of emphasis include mechanisms of anaphylaxis, B-cell and cytokine biology, occupational lung disease, air pollution, and childhood allergy and human genetics research.