Embargoed Release Date                       Contact:   Jo Ann Faber

November 11, 2008                                                   (847) 427-1200 x240

                                                                                   joannfaber@acaai.org

Richard Gower Installed as ACAAI President

Sami Bahna becomes President-Elect

SEATTLE, November 11, 2008 – Richard G. Gower, M.D., Spokane, Wash., was installed as president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) at the ACAAI Annual Meeting in Seattle on Nov. 11, 2008.

Other elected officers were:  Sami L. Bahna, M.D., Dr.PH., Shreveport, La., president-elect; Dana V. Wallace, M.D., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., vice president; Stanley M. Fineman, M.D., M.B.A., Marietta, Ga., treasurer.  Elected as Regents for three-year terms were: David I. Bernstein, M.D., Cincinnati, Ohio; Timothy J. Craig, M.D., Hershey, Pa.; and Russell A. Settipane, M.D., Providence, R.I.

Richard G. Gower, M.D.

Dr. Gower is clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle, and a private practitioner at Marycliff Allergy Specialists in Spokane, Wash.

He served as  ACAAI president-elect, 2007-08, vice president, 2006-2007, and treasurer of both the ACAAI and its Foundation, 2003-2006.  He is serving his third term on the Board of Regents, formerly as Speaker of the House of Delegates, 1997-99, and Regent, 1999-2002. Dr. Gower chairs the Executive Committee, chairs the Public Education, Awareness and Allergist Advocacy Campaign, and is vice chair of the International Committee. He serves on the Investment Oversight Committee, the Immunotherapy & Diagnostics Committee, the Finance Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Publications Committee and the Annual Program Committee. He is former chair of the Finance Committee, the Annual Program Committee, the Acorn Committee, the Communications Council, Professional Allergy/Immunology Education Committee and the Managed Care Committee and the Public Relations Network. He was selected as the honorary speaker for the 2006 Bela Schick Lecture.

Dr. Gower served on the Board of Directors of the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 2002-06. He is a past president of several organizations including the Intermountain West Allergy Association, 2000-01; Western Society of Allergy and Immunology, 1997-98; Inland Empire Allergy Society, 1993-99; and Washington State Society of Internal Medicine, 1986-87. He was chairman of the Health Systems Reform Committee of the American Society of Internal Medicine (ASIM), 1993-95.

Sami L. Bahna, M.D., Dr.PH.

Dr. Bahna is professor of pediatrics and medicine, chief of the Allergy/Immunology Section, and director of A/I Training Program at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport, La.

An ACAAI Fellow since 1982, he serves on the Board of Regents, 1988-1991 and 1997-present; the Executive Committee, 1991 and 2007; the Nominating Committee, 1992 and 2003; and the JCAAI Board of Directors, 1997-1999. He chairs the Allergy/Immunology Training Program Directors’ Planning Committee and the International Food Allergy Symposium Committee. Dr. Bahna is a member on the following Committees: Acorn, Annual Program, Adverse Reactions to Foods, Executive, Finance, International, Pharmaceutical Symposium and Professional Education Council. He is also an associate editor of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

In addition to several national and international honors and awards, Dr. Bahna received the College’s Distinguished Service Award, 2005; the Distinguished Fellow Award, 2004; the International Distinguished Fellow Award, 1992; and the Clemens von Pirquet Award, 1978. He presented the 2004 John P. McGovern Lecture, the 1996 Bernard Berman Memorial Lecture and the 1988 Bela Schick Lecture.

Dana Wallace, M.D.

Dr. Wallace is associate clinical professor at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Fla., and is a private practitioner in allergy, asthma and clinical immunology.

An ACAAI Fellow since 1978, she served on the Board of Regents, 2002-05, and on the Executive Committee, 2003-05. She has been on the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters since 2005 and is the chief editor of “The Diagnosis and Management of Rhinitis: An updated Practice Parameter.” In 2007 she received the Woman in Allergy award and presented the 2008 Bela Schick Lecture. She is current chair of the Drugs and Anaphylaxis Committee; chaired the Communications Council and the By-Laws Committee; served on the Annals of Allergy Manuscript Review Committee since 2005; has been a Nationwide Asthma Screening Program coordinator since 2000; and is a member of numerous committees including the Annual Program, Literature Review, Practice Guidelines, and Continuing Medical Education. She was just appointed chair of the ACAAI Web site development committee.

Dr. Wallace served on the Florida State Board of Medical Examiners, 1979-84. She is past president of the Florida Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Association, 1990 and current president of Women Physicians of South Florida. She was on the Florida Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Association’s Executive Committee and chaired its Practice Standards Committee. She also was on the Florida Medical Association Council on Medical Education and Science, and served since the 1980’s as a Broward County Medical Association Delegate to the Florida Medical Association and has just been named Broward County Medical Association secretary/treasurer.

Stanley M. Fineman, M.D., M.B.A.

Dr. Fineman is in private practice with the Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic and has a teaching appointment as clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

An ACAAI Fellow since 1981, he is serving his third term as Treasurer and his second term on the Board of Regents, 1997-2000 and 2007-present. He is chair of the Finance Committee and Managed Care Key Contact Network, and former co-chair of the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters. He is a member of the Executive Committee, Acorn Committee, Ethics Committee, Publications Committee and PR Network. He was honored with the College’s Distinguished Fellow Award, 2000; the  Distinguished Service Award, 1999; and the 1999 Mittelstaedt lectureship.

Dr. Fineman was president of several organizations including the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 2004-06;  the Cobb County Medical Society, 1996; Certified Allergy Consultants, 1988-96; Allergy and Immunology Society of Georgia, 1984; and the Cobb Area Pediatric Society, 1983.

David I. Bernstein, M.D.

Dr. Bernstein is professor of  clinical medicine and environmental health; director of Allergy Diagnostic Laboratory; co-director of the A/I Training Program in the Division of Allergy-Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. An ACAAI Fellow since 1993, he is vice chair of the ACAAI Basic & Immunology Committee; is a member of the Occupational Health Committee and Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters; and was associate editor of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.  Dr. Bernstein has been active in numerous organizations including the AAAAI, AMA, NLHBI, NIAID, NIOSH and U.S. Pharmacopeia. He is former chair of the AAAAI EOD interest section and past president of the Cincinnati Allergy Society, 2002-04.

Timothy J. Craig, M.D

Dr. Craig is professor of medicine and pediatrics; chief Allergy/Immunology Section; director of allergy and respiratory clinical research; and program director, Allergy/Immunology at Penn State University, Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. An ACAAI Fellow since 1994, he is a member of the Abstract Review Committee; the Allergy/Immunology Training Program Directors’ Planning Committee; and member and previous chair of the Sports Medicine Committee and Occupational Health Committee. Dr. Craig also serves as chair of the AAAAI Sports Committee and is Governor of Regional, State and Local Allergy Associations. He is past president of the Pennsylvania Allergy and Asthma Association, 2003.

Russell A. Settipane, M.D.

Dr. Settipane is Clinical Professor of Medicine, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island; Co-Director, Allergy and Asthma Center;  Co-Director, Asthma Nasal Disease & Allergy Research Center of New England; and private practitioner in Providence, Wakefield, Middletown and Cumberland, Rhode Island. An ACAAI Fellow since 2001, he is chair of the Practice Guidelines Committee; peer reviewer for Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; and on the Public Relations Network. Dr. Settipane is president of the Eastern Allergy Conference, 2004-present, and vice president 2001-04; president of Rhode Island Society of Allergy, 2003-present; and president of OceanSide Publications, 2004-present.

About the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

The ACAAI is a professional medical organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill., that promotes excellence in the practice of the subspecialty of allergy and immunology. The College, comprising more than 5,000 allergists-immunologists and related health care professionals, fosters a culture of collaboration and congeniality in which its members work together and with others toward the common goals of patient care, education, advocacy and research.

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Note to reporters:

For digital photos of ACAAI officers and regents, e-mail joannfaber@acaai.org.