Medical Advisory Board
Dr. Lisa Bartnikas
Board-Certified Allergist/Immunologist and Pediatrician
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School
Allergist/Immunologist at Boston Children’s Hospital
Dr. Lisa Bartnikas is a board-certified allergist/immunologist and pediatrician, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and is on staff as an Allergist/Immunologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. She completed pediatrics residency at the Boston Combined Residency Program (Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center) and allergy/immunology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital.
In addition to providing clinical care for patients, she is active in clinical research and advocacy, and holds leadership positions in regional and national organizations. Her primary research interest is in pediatric food allergy, particular as it relates to management, school policies, and psychosocial impact. She is past president of the New England Society of Allergy and serves on the medical advisory boards of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, New England Chapter and the International FPIES Association. She created and co-chairs the Psychosocial Impact of Food Allergies workgroup within the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology national organization. Outside of work, she loves spending time with her husband, two sons, and their cat. Dr. Bartnikas is honored to work with the Allison Rose Foundation to promote the safety and psychosocial well-being of children with food allergies and their families.
Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH
Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Mary Ann & J Milburn Smith Senior Scientist in Child Health Research
Clinical Attending, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Director, Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research (CFAAR)
Director, Science & Outcomes of Allergy & Asthma Research Program (SOAAR)
Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Clinical Attending at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She has more than 15 years of experience as a board-certified pediatrician and health researcher and currently serves as the director of the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research (CFAAR) and Science and Outcomes of Allergy and Asthma Research Program (SOAAR) where she is actively involved in clinical, epidemiological, and community-based research.
Dr. Gupta is nationally recognized for her groundbreaking research in the area of food allergy and asthma epidemiology; specifically her research on childhood food allergy prevalence. She has also significantly contributed to academic research surrounding economic costs, pediatric management of food allergy and asthma, ED visits and hospitalizations, quality of life and community interventions especially in schools. Dr. Gupta has over 100 peer reviewed publications and her work has been featured in major TV networks and print media. Dr. Gupta strives to improve the lives of children and their families through her research and hopes to continue finding answers and shaping policies surrounding pediatric food allergy and asthma.
Dr. Gupta completed her undergraduate and medical education at the University of Louisville. She completed her medical residency at Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center, University of Washington in Seattle, WA and then a pediatric health services research fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She then received her Masters of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Sandra Hong
Sandra Hong MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI is the Regional Medical Director, Southern Region, Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF), practices in the Allergy and Clinical Immunology Department at CCF, and is the director of the CCF Food Allergy Center of Excellence. She attended Northeastern Ohio Medical School where she served as Chief Resident. Dr. Hong completed her fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard Hospital. Dr. Hong has practiced at University Hospitals and has been with CCF for the past 14 years. She serves on the Board of the Allison Rose Foundation, has appeared on multiple TV news outlets and in media presentations educating the public on allergies, asthma and food allergies. In addition, she serves as an expert resource within Northeast Ohio school systems on food allergies.
Dr. Alice Hoyt
Dr. Alice Hoyt is a board-certified allergist & immunologist, internist, and pediatrician. She has been on staff at Cleveland Clinic and Vanderbilt University and focuses her clinical practice on food allergy while also leading Code Ana. She developed the Code Ana Program in 2015 when a local school reached out for help in creating a school-wide medical emergency response plan. Code Ana’s mission is to equip schools to prevent and be prepared for any medical emergency by having a practiced medical emergency response plan. Thousands of childhood educators have been trained by Code Ana and it’s affiliated programs. Dr. Hoyt is a firm believer that team work makes the dream work and enjoys her growing collaboration with the Allison Rose Foundation.
Dr. Katie Marks-Cogan
Katie Marks-Cogan MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI is a board certified Allergist/Immunologist and Internist and sees both pediatric and adult patients. After completing residency in medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and a fellowship in Allergy/Immunology at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP), she moved to Southern California where she works in private practice and is the founder of Clear Allergy. Dr. Marks-Cogan is also the Chief Allergist and a member of the scientific advisory board for Ready, Set, Food!, a Los Angeles-based company that created a nutritional supplement for infants aimed at addressing the food allergy epidemic. She has numerous media appearances and has authored many articles pertaining to topics in the field of allergy. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two children where she enjoys hiking, building LEGO castles with her kids, and cooking with her family.
Dr. Princess Ogbogu
Princess Ogbogu, MD is the Director of the Division of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Ogbogu has dedicated her career to education of students and physicians in training, and education and empowerment of patients and families. Dr. Ogbogu serves as a Director of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and has held several national leadership roles within the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. She specializes in the care of adult and pediatric patients with a spectrum of allergic and immunologic disorders. Her clinical and research interests are in eosinophilic disorders and health disparities. She is also a food allergy mom and has a strong desire to see advancement in research and clinical care of food allergic patients and families.
Dr. Brian Schroer
Brian Schroer MD FAAAI is the division director of allergy and immunology at Akron Children’s Hospital. He specializes in clinical care of pediatric and adult patients with all allergic diseases including asthma and food allergies. He is a reviewer and on the editorial board of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice and serves on committees for the AAAAI. His academic teaching has involved working with medical students, residents, and attending clinicians to help implement relationship centered communication skills into their practice. In addition, he works on social media using communication tools to help patients and families understand prevention, management and treatment of food allergies. Finally, when not working he likes to spend time with family, growing tomatoes, fishing and being outside.
Dr. Ruchi Shah
Dr. Ruchi Shah is a board-certified allergist & immunologist and internist. She attended Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, completed her Internal Medicine residency at Case Western Reserve University – University Hospitals and went on to complete her Allergy/Immunology fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is currently on staff at the Cleveland Clinic. In addition to providing clinical care for patients, she is passionate about community education and interventions, especially related to allergic conditions. She is a physician specialist for the Code Ana program, which works toward creating safer school and community environments. As a member of the Allison Rose Foundation, she looks forward to helping improve the lives of families through evidence-based medicine/research, education and increased awareness.
Julie Sterbank, DO, MPH, FACOI, FACOP
Julie Sterbank, DO, MPH, FACOI, FACOP is a board-certified in Adult and Pediatric Allergy & Immunology and is in full-time clinical practice. She also is board-certified in General Pediatrics and General Internal Medicine. She completed her combined residency at MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University where she served as Chief Resident before completing her Allergy & Immunology fellowship at University Hospitals of Cleveland. She received her MPH from Baldwin Wallace. In addition to practicing Adult and Pediatric Allergy & Immunology, she is also an Assistant Program Director for the Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program at MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University and frequently teaches on a national level. She also serves as Chair of the Physician Wellbeing Committee of the American College of Osteopathic Internists.
Prior to medical school, she worked in patient advocacy and research compliance in academic medicine administration both at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and University Hospitals of Cleveland. When she is not seeing patients, she enjoys exploring the Metroparks and is an amateur calligrapher.
Dr. David Stukus
Dr. Stukus is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Dave is actively involved in food allergy education, advocacy, and research. He holds leadership positions at his institution as well as within the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. He is active on social media, where he engages with the public through his Twitter and Instagram accounts @AllergyKidsDoc to disseminate evidence based information and combat myths.