‘Now is the time’ to elevate women allergists, provide mentorship, address women’s health

Jennifer Namazy, MD, FAAAAI, credits many of her achievements to the mentors she had in her early career. Now as a professor of clinical medicine at Scripps Clinic Medical Group, she gets to be a mentor to a new generation of allergists.

Namazy became interested in allergy and immunology as an intern, and she developed a passion for women’s health during her fellowship 20 years ago. Since then, Namazy has been trying to bring women’s health to the forefront of the allergy field by being part of the the Vaccine and Medications in Pregnancy Surveillance System (VAMPSS) Task Force and the Women’s Health Allergy/Immunology Committee within the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Sparking interest

Namazy said she did not have much exposure to the allergy field as a medical student, but an experience she had as an intern opened her eyes to the important role allergists play within health care.

“I remember working as an intern in New York City, back when we had HIV floors in the hospital,” she said. “That’s how bad the epidemic was.”

Namazy had a patient with a severe infection that could only be treated with a sulfa antibiotic, but the patient was sulfa allergic. Namazy watched in amazement as an allergist desensitized him enough for his body to accept the antibiotic.

“He subsequently cleared the infection and walked out healthy,” she said. “It was amazing to me that you could manipulate the immune system and save people’s lives.”

Namazy said this experience is what sparked her interest in allergy and immunology. Now she wants to generate a similar interest in the field among early-career physicians. That is why she supports the initiative of former AAAAI president David Khan, MD, FAAAAI, to develop a resident outreach program. The goal is to create seminars for residents and medical students to learn more about allergy and immunology, as well as the opportunity to meet practicing allergists and learn more about the specialty.

Passion for women’s health

Namazy became interested in women’s health during her fellowship at Scripps while working on a study with Michael Schatz, MD, MS, FAAAAI, to evaluate the safety of inhaled corticosteroids during pregnancy.

“The study evaluated all the inhaled corticosteroids, but before we had digital data formats, so there were papers and papers to go through. That project really ignited my passion for asthma and allergic diseases in pregnancy,” Namazy said, adding that she still works closely with Schatz as co-principal investigators for VAMPSS.

Twenty years later, Namazy said there is still a lot that researchers do not know about asthma and pregnancy.

“Whether certain asthma treatments are safe and effective during pregnancy seems like a simple question, but it is very difficult to answer,” she said. “Your classic clinical trial studies usually cannot be done in this population.”

Namazy has risen to address this knowledge gap with the Breathe 4 Baby Toolkit, a collection of resources for health care providers and their pregnant patients to manage asthma during pregnancy. The toolkit was a collaboration with the AAAAI, VAMPSS and the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America, and it contains a pregnancy and lactation asthma plan, as well as links to detailed information about the effects certain medications have on pregnancy and lactation.

“This toolkit is meant to be used as a coordination of care between OBGYNs, pulmonologists, allergists, nurses in charge of asthma care and pharmacists, so that we can all be on the same page, and it also allows the patient to have the tools to self-manage care, because that is really important as well,” Namazy said. “It was really helpful for women to actually see the numbers, monitor their symptoms and know what they should be taking.”

The next generation

Namazy has seen the allergy field change over the course of her career, and the most noticeable change has been an increase in women entering the field. Earlier in her career, Namazy said she tried to plan women’s networking events, which would sometimes run into roadblocks from male physicians.

“Now is the time; we have so much opportunity,” she said. “We’re in a place nationally and politically that women can come together and make changes. I don’t see those roadblocks like I have seen in the past.”

Since forming the AAAAI Women’s Health Allergy/Immunology Committee, Namazy has the opportunity to inspire incoming women allergists to continue the work she has done for the last 20 years.

“It is a perfect opportunity to, again, bring in that mentorship and discuss issues that are pertinent to women’s health in this particular field,” she said. “Because there are more women allergist-immunologists, and they are gaining traction, I think that we are going to have more research, hopefully, and more incentive to look into women’s health issues more closely.”

References:

AAAAI. Asthma and Pregnancy Toolkit: Breathe 4 Baby. Available at: https://www.aaaai.org/practice-management/practice-tools/asthma-and-pregnancy-toolkit. Accessed Feb. 12, 2024.

Namazy J, et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004;doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2003.11.046.

For more information:

Jennifer Namazy, MD, FAAAAI, can be reached at janamazy@me.com.