Dr Hugh A. Sampson, who conducted a lecture series in New Zealand in 2005 for medical professionals, the general public and the food industry, was elected President of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) during its 2008 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia recently.

Dr. Sampson is Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology in the Department of Pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where he also serves as Director of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute and Dean for Translational Biomedical Sciences.

The AAAAI is the largest professional medical specialty organization in the United States representing allergists, asthma specialists, clinical immunologists, allied health professionals and others with a special interest in the research and treatment of allergic disease.