Allergy’s academic landscape changing as more women enter field, but work remains

Meera R. Gupta, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, says she knew she wanted to be a doctor from the day she was born.

She planned on becoming a scientist after her training, but her career led her down a different path into the world of academia, which ignited her passion for teaching.

Gupta, who now serves as associate professor and allergy and immunology fellowship program director at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, as well as a Healio Women in Allergy Peer Perspective Board Member, said being an educator is rewarding because it allows her to reach even more patients through the fellows she has trained and sent into the workforce, while also helping to shape the allergy landscape for the next generation.

Scientist to scholar

Gupta has always had an interest in science and considered molecular biology, cell biology and similar fields. She was drawn to allergy and immunology because it gave her the opportunity to engage in scientific research.

“It is a subspecialty where the science translates directly into what we do on a day-to-day basis and how I evaluate and manage patients,” she said.

After completing her fellowship at Cleveland Clinic, Gupta was searching for an opportunity that would allow her to focus on research.

“What I wanted to do more than anything else was be a physician scientist,” Gupta said. “I still love bench work; I love basic science. I sought a position after fellowship in a place where I could do that, and everything else was secondary.”

Gupta took a job at University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) with the goal of studying immune regulation and transplant tolerance, but when she was unable to secure grant funding, Gupta shifted her focus from research to seeing patients and teaching.

“In medicine, you always serve as an educator, whether it is to your patients, colleagues, or trainees,” she said. “This was the first time I got a taste of that.”

Her passion for education grew at UTMB, and after 10 years of teaching, Gupta was promoted to associate professor.

Although she was proud of her accomplishment, Gupta said the promotion was a wake-up call. She realized how quickly the last 10 years went by and wondered where she wanted to be in the next 10 years.

“I had to stop and reflect on what the next 7 to 10 years would look like on the path to professorship,” Gupta said. “I was worried that if I stayed where I was, I would not grow as a physician and a clinician the way I wanted to.”

Gupta ended up taking a job at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, which offered the growth opportunities she was looking for. Within 3 months, Gupta took over the allergy and immunology fellowship program. Gupta has served as program director for 5 years, and she has tremendous pride in her work and the work of her fellows.

“The achievement I am most proud of is seeing my trainees go on and do amazing things in their practices all across the country,” Gupta said. “If there is one thing they take from me and use in their work, that is a huge accomplishment.”

Landscape of academia

Gupta said academia has changed a lot since she was a fellow. In particular, she is seeing significantly more women applying to fellowships.

As this shift occurs, academia may still have some work to do to overcome the societal expectations of gender roles.

“I think academic centers are a bit slower because there tends to be less turnover,” Gupta said.

In the workplace, the expectations of superiors may not always account for responsibilities at home, Gupta said. She noted that many leadership positions are still male dominated.

“I feel like there isn’t always the understanding of what it is like when you have to juggle work and family,” she said.

Gupta recalled seeing her mom go to work all day as a nurse, then come home, cook dinner and take care of the house. Seeing the expectations her mom had for herself made Gupta feel a similar pressure after she got married and had children, a pressure she has been trying to fight against as a physician and educator.

As she is seeing more women join her fellowship program, Gupta has been striving to make her program more welcoming to women.

One way she does so is by using self-reflection to understand her unconscious biases. For example, she pays attention to the language she uses in recommendation letters to avoid imparting bias based on the student’s sex.

Gupta tries to create a level playing field for her fellows, regardless of sex, by offering the same opportunities and holding every trainee to the same standards. But she also wants to uplift women by understanding issues that her female trainees experience and providing advice and mentorship to help them navigate those challenges.

A significant change Gupta has noticed in the newest generation of fellows is women’s ability to stand up for themselves. Gupta remembered hearing sexist remarks during her training, but she was always taught to ignore it or laugh along to avoid retaliation. She said today’s trainees do not let that behavior slide anymore.

“I am happy that these things are changing for our trainees where they feel more comfortable being able to speak up and say something,” Gupta said.

Changing the narrative for the next generation

One of the aspects Gupta loves most about teaching is her ability to mentor up-and-coming women allergists. As a woman who has had to juggle a career and a family, she has learned that the concept of “balance” is often misconstrued.

“The idea of balance is that everything is going to be 50/50 all the time,” Gupta said. “But balance is not about doing everything all at once.”
such as meeting deadlines at work or focusing on patients. On other days, the most important thing might be going home and spending time with family. And that is OK, Gupta said.

“The world is already so happy to make women feel guilty about all of the things we are doing or not doing,” she said. “You do not need to do that to yourself.”

Gupta also stressed the importance of setting personal goals once her trainees enter the workforce. When she was in training, Gupta remembered having all of her goals laid out by her instructors: take this class, pass this exam, submit this application. But after she finished her fellowship, she felt like she was on her own. After she secured a job, she said it was easy to grow complacent.

“You get up, go to work, see patients, do charts, rinse and repeat,” Gupta said. “Then you wake up one day and it is 5 years later, and you wonder what you have been doing the last 5 years.”

Gupta advised setting goals and periodically reexamining and updating them as circumstances change.

Gupta’s goal for herself is to help her fellowship program grow and improve. She plans to focus on creating a curriculum that best prepares her fellows to enter the workforce and help patients.

“My dad has asked why I am staying in academics when I could make more money in my own practice,” Gupta said. “To me, if I see 50 patients a week, great. That is 50 patients I have touched. But if I train three fellows a year, and each of those fellows is seeing 50 patients a week, imagine over my career how many lives I will be able to touch.”

For more information:

Meera R. Gupta, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, can be reached at meera.gupta@bcm.edu.