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Chairperson:
Leonard Bielory, MD
Gary Gross, MD
IAACI: Mona Kidon, MD Menachem Rottem, MD
Webmaster: David Rosenthal, DO Admin. Assistant:
Treasurer:
Allergists for Israel is a 501(c)(3) organization.
Last Updated 11/2/2011 Hosted by: 1and1
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Dear AFI members and friends, As we all have seen in the news over the past several months, the world is changing rapidly all around us. However even though uncertainty looms in our midst, there are some constants such as family, friends and tradition that we have grown to depend on for strength and encouragement. We believe that Allergists for Israel is one beacon of stability that endeavors to promote camaraderie between allergists in Israel and abroad through friendship and academia. Now in its 26th year, our organization has provided opportunities to its members and friends that otherwise would not be possible. Every day we get new or renewing applications from individuals who express their appreciation for what AFI provides to its members. Recently, David Sloan from Brigham and Women’s commented that although he has attended nearly every AAAAI annual meeting since 2001, the meeting in 2010 was the first where he attended AFI functions, and doing so made it the best AAAAI meeting he has ever attended. He also reiterated the importance for AFI to strengthen the opportunities for North American Allergist/Immunologists, such as himself to collaborate with allergist/immunologists in Israel. I am pleased to say that strengthening collaborations with our Israeli colleagues is shared by many of you and for this reason AFI in conjunction with the Rambam Health Care Campus, in Haifa under the tutelage of Drs. Shimon Pollack and Eduardo Shahar have established a mini-sabbatical for North or South American allergists to spend two weeks in Israel subsidized by AFI. We are still providing opportunities for Israeli Allergists/Immunologists to come to the United States or Canada to participate in clinical/academic/research programs as part of a mini-fellowship or sabbatical. All academic institutions are welcome to participate in these mini-fellowships and AFI provides stipend support for our Israeli colleagues to participate. Please contact Beth or myself if you are interested in being a host institution. Of course the best way to meet and develop collaborations with our Israeli colleagues is by attending the AAAAI and/or ACAAI meetings where AFI has sponsored events or by attending the annual IAACI meeting. As we all know, things are also changing rapidly in healthcare. One major change has been the ability to readily secure funding from corporate sponsors. Although we have been blessed to have a devoted corporate sponsor in TEVA, our organization must ensure that it will remain economically secure regardless of whether we have such benefactors in the future. For this reason, more than ever, I am asking that not only do you join AFI or renew your membership by paying your annual dues but also make an additional donation that will serve to strengthen AFI financially so it can continue to thrive and persevere as an organization into the future. I encourage everyone to go to our website, www.allergists4israel.org, and submit your dues and donations electronically for 2011. This year’s AAAAI meeting in San Francisco falls on Purim similar to last year’s meeting. There will be a Kiddush as always Friday night and a gala dinner on Sunday night. We will again have a Purim costume party theme so please bring a mask or wear an outlandish costume. Refer to the margin on the left for times and location of all events. As always our Sunday gala event promises to be intellectually and socially stimulating. It features Dr. Eli Meltzer whose talk is entitled "Understanding practical aspects of evaluating and treating allergic rhinitis in children and adults" followed by a brief talk by Rabbi Irvin Ungar, Publisher of the Szyk Haggadah entitled "A 20th Century Masterpiece for the 21st Century". This past month, two AFI research grants were awarded to young Israeli Allergist/Immunology researchers. The winners are Zahava Vadasz, from the division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Bnai-Zion medical center, Haifa, Israel whose project was entitled, "The involvement of neuropilin-1 and immune semaphorin's in inflammatory bowel disease" and Yuval Tal from the Department of Medicine, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Unit at Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel whose project was entitled, "Development of a novel ex-vivo system to study human nasal polyps physiology and therapy". Congratulations to both recipients and we look forward to seeing the results of your studies at an upcoming IAACI or AAAAI meeting. Currently we are receiving new research proposals submissions from Israeli researchers that will be awarded at the October 2011 IAACI meeting. We are still moving forward with the second international meeting in Jerusalem, November 30-December 2, 2012. For those who were fortunate to attend the first meeting, you can attest how wonderful of an experience it was. For those who were unable to attend, this will be a great opportunity to visit Israel, get CME credits while seeing old friends and/or making new ones. The 2012 meeting promises to be a fantastic experience. I would like to specially thank our corporate sponsor TEVA pharmaceutical company who has been a steadfast supporter of AFI activities over the years. Tell your friends about the great camaraderie AFI promotes and encourage them to become members and attend our events this year at the AAAAI. On behalf of the AFI board of directors and staff, I sincerely thank you for your continued support and encouragement. I look forward to seeing you all at the AAAAI meeting in San Francisco.
Shalom
and L'hitraot, Our Mission
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March
2011
