Gary S. Rachelefsky, MD FAAAAI Lectureship: Investing Together in Our Future
Gary S. Rachelefsky, MD FAAAAI is a graduate of Columbia College and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He completed a medical internship at Bellevue Hospital (NYU); a pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital (Harriet Lane); a 2-year epidemiology program at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta Georgia; and a fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at UCLA.
Dr. Rachelefsky went on to become the Director of the Executive Care Center for Asthma, Allergy and Respiratory Diseases, Professor of Allergy and Immunology, and Associate Director of the Allergy-Immunology Training Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He was president of the Respiratory and Allergic Disease Foundation and has been a principal investigator of multiple clinical trials. He is the author or co-author of more than 160 peer-reviewed publications dealing with allergy, respiratory disorders and immunology and has personally treated between 80,000 and 100,000 patients in his 40 years in medicine.
He is the author of a book (published by McGraw Hill) for parents of children with asthma, “Free Your Child From Asthma: A Four-Week Plan to Eliminate Symptoms.” He was medical director of the Starlight Children’s Foundation’s asthma game for children (Quest for the Code) and is a member of their board of trustees.
Dr. Rachelefsky was president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) in 1997, is currently on the editorial board of The Annals of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology, and has been on the editorial boards of the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, Pediatrics, and Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. He was a member and past President of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, past chairperson of the allergy and immunology section of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and is the AAP representative to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [NHLBI]).
Among his many professional honors, his most cherished include the National Asthma Award for Public Education/Service (NHLBI), the Lay Medical Education Award of the AAP, and twice being recognized for his teaching of house staff and medical students from the Department of Pediatrics, UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Rachelefsky is now retired, living in Los Angeles with his wife Gail and continues to mentor young medical students. The AAAAI Foundation is pleased to announce the Gary S. Rachelefsky Lectureship, which will foster research in the specialty that has been a lifelong passion for Dr. Rachelefsky.
Dr. Rachelefsky's Lectureship was established in 2017. The first Lecture in his name was delivered at the 2018 AAAAI/WAO Joint Congress in Orlando.
| Year | Lecturer | Lecture Topic |
| 2018 | Elizabeth Matsui, MD MHS | Environmental Impacts on Asthma: Biology to Intervention |
| 2019 | Anuradha Ray, PhD | Interferons Contribute to Allergic Disease: Lessons Learned from the Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Center |
If you wish to honor Dr. Rachelefsky, please consider a gift to the AAAAI Foundation and Gary S. Rachelefsky, MD FAAAAI Lectureship Fund. A donation in any amount can be dedicated to this effort. Dr. Rachelefsky will be notified of your gift in honor, and your name will be listed as a donor to this fund in the Annual Report of the AAAAI Foundation. Your donation makes a difference. We appreciate your support and your commitment to our specialty.
To make a contribution by phone call the AAAAI Foundation Office at 414-272-6071.