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Professionals Featured Resources » Become a Member About the AAAAI Careers in A/I New Research from the JACI Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Education and Research Trust (ART) Resources for You Resources for Your Patients AAAAI Assemblies » Professionals Contact Medical Students Medical Residents Fellows-in-Training Training Programs Referral Guidelines Allergy/Asthma Medication Guide ST*AR Program Pediatric Asthma Guide Quality of Life Resources Pierson Program Breakthroughs in Bioscience AAAAI Assembly overview Allied Health Federation of the RSLAAI Societies International Military Allergy New Allergist/Immunologist Assembly Program Directors		Careers in A/I for Medical Students: FAQ Profiles of Allergists - Dean D Metcalfe, MD, FAAAAI NIAID leader offers unique outlook on specialty From his position with the government-run National Institutes Health (NIH), Dean D. Metcalfe, M.D., FAAAAI, has a unique view of the allergy/immunology medical community. And he likes what he sees. "It's harder today than a decade ago to find positions that allow a physician to become involved in both basic and clinical research, but my position offers me both," Metcalfe said. "Here, we are able to see the application of new knowledge to patient care for the benefit of the patient, and we're able to play a role in basic discovery. And that is very exciting." As Chief of NIH's Laboratory of Allergic Diseases and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Allergy and Immunology Training Program, Metcalfe has the ability to both contribute to breakthroughs in the field and to create new, future allergy/immunology leaders. The NIH A/I training program accepts two to four clinical fellows each year, many of whom go on to work in academics, research and regulatory agencies. Research on mast cells foremost in achievements The ability to assist the field in two distinct yet significant ways makes for constant inspiration and focus in his work, Metcalfe said. In addition to the fulfillment of training new A/I clinicians and academicians, Metcalfe also finds intramural research within the NIH structure extremely rewarding. The author of more than 300 journal articles, Metcalfe's group was the first to report the origin of the human mast cell, and his NIH lab was the first to study mast cell adhesion. His researchers also contributed to the characterization of the products made by mast cells in inflammation. Metcalfe's desire to help others began when he received his B.S. degree from Northern Arizona University, and continued when he received his M.D. from the University of Tennessee and his training in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan. He served as a fellow in allergy/immunology at the NIH and a fellow in rheumatology at the Robert Brigham Hospital, while a fellow in immunology at Harvard Medical School. In 1979, he returned to the NIH as a Senior Clinical Investigator within the Allergic Diseases Section of the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, NIAID. In 1985, he was appointed Head of the Mast Cell Physiology Section; in 1994, Head of the Allergic Diseases Section; and in 1995, Chief of the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases. After serving as Co-Director of the NIAID Allergy and Immunology Training Program from 1979 to 1993, Metcalfe assumed his present position as Director of the program. AAAAI fosters quest for optimal patient care The search for new and better forms of patient care is prevalent throughout the A/I field, and the Academy's support fosters such thirst for discovery. "There are a lot of positive things happening through the efforts of a lot of people, from private practitioners, to researchers in industry and government, to clinicians, to the Academy," Metcalfe said. "This is a massive integrated effort and an enormous task. And the Academy plays a major role in the education of physicians and patients in setting standards of quality and care, in fostering basic and clinical research, in encouraging medical students to enter the field and in developing fellows-in-training." Collaborations integral to success Due to his high esteem of the Academy, Metcalfe has given the AAAAI years of personal volunteer time. Besides serving as the current AAAAI Vice-President and an At-Large Board of Director from 1994 to 1997, he has also been active in many committees, including member and past Chair of the Food and Drug and Anaphylaxis Interest Section and the Adverse Reactions to Foods Committee; member of the Audiovisual and Media Committee and the Bylaw Revision Subcommittee; and Chair of the International Committee, the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Liaison Committee, and the National Issues Subcommittee, among many others. It is the growing number of Academy-led outreach and cooperative efforts that will continue to make a difference in field advances. "It's a huge responsibility, and the Academy does well particularly when it integrates its efforts with other organizations, including the federal government and private industry, regulatory agencies and the physicians in practice. Working together is just the best and most efficient way to make things happen." <back>
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