Welcome to Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology

The University of Rochester Medical Center's Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, a part of Strong Memorial Hospital, has a long history, dating back to the late 1950s, of providing excellence in patient care, medical research, and education. Our current physicians, scientists, and staff are committed to carrying on this tradition. To these ends, we strive to provide timely, individualized, state-of-the-art medical care to patients with musculoskeletal, autoimmune, and allergic diseases. Through our research, we seek to expand our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie these disorders, with the goal of developing more effective and less toxic treatments. By educating health care providers and acting as advocates for our patients, we seek to improve treatment outcomes and quality of life.

The Division, currently under the direction of Dr. Christopher Ritchlin, has nine Rheumatologists and three Rheumatology fellows, three faculty in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and two Allergy fellows. AIR also has six full-time Ph.D. research faculty, along with numerous post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and technicians, who conduct cutting edge studies of the newest treatments for autoimmune, rheumatic and allergic diseases. The faculty is supported by nine clinical study coordinators that are currently assisting with 13 active clinical trials plus several active clinical research projects.

The AIR Division has close ties with numerous Departments in the Medical Center including Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Ophthalmology and Dermatology. In addition to its clinical ties with Orthopedics, three Division faculty members are also members of the Center for Musculoskeletal Research. Three faculty members, one Rheumatologist and two Allergy/Immunologists, hold joint appointments in AIR and Pediatrics. In addition to an in-depth conference held in conjunction with Dermatology, joint clinics are held with both Ophthalmology and Dermatology.