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Augusto A. Litonjua, M.D., M.P.H.

Contact Information

Phone Numbers

Office: (585) 275-2464

Fax: (585) 275-8706

URMFGA member of the University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group

groupAn Accountable Health Partner

assignmentNot Accepting New Patients

Faculty Appointments

Patient Care Settings

Hospital Medicine, Pediatrics

Biography

Dr. Litonjua is interested in the management of asthma patients and how to better prevent asthma exacerbations. As part of this, the use of biologics and specific nutrients hold promise in the treatment of these patients.

Research

Dr. Litonjua's research primarily deals with investigating factors that both increase and decrease the risk of developing asthma, wheezing, and allergic disorders in childhood. As part of this, he has investigated a broad range of prenatal and early life exposures including maternal diet, exposure to allergens, exposure to early life environment (e.g. pets, daycare attendance, air pollution, etc). He co-led a clinical trial of vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy to prevent asthma in the offspring.

He has an interest in identifying genetic and epigenetic marks that affect asthma development and is also working on the interaction between these genetic and epigenetic factors and environmental exposures on the development of asthma and allergies.

Dr. Litonjua has begun to examine the role of the gut microbiome and the environmental microbiome in early life on the development of asthma and allergies in children.

Credentials

Education

1986
MD | University of the Philippines College of Medicine (Philippines)

1997
MPH | Harvard School of Public Health

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

07/01/1995 - 06/30/1997
Fellowship in Epidemiology at Brigham & Womens Hospital

08/01/1992 - 06/30/1995
Fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at West Virginia University Hospitals

07/01/1989 - 06/30/1992
Residency in Internal Medicine at Brooklyn Hospital Center-Downtown Campus

07/01/1988 - 06/30/1989
Internship in Internal Medicine at Brooklyn Hospital Center-Downtown Campus

05/01/1986 - 04/30/1987
Internship at Philippine General Hospital (Philippines)

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Awards

2018 - Present
American Thoracic Society Fellow
Sponsor: American Thoracic Society

2015
Elected to membership of the American Pediatric Society

2011
Outstanding Researcher – University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society, Annual Homecoming,
Location: Makati, Philippines

2011
Outstanding Achievement in Research – University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society in America, Annual Grand Convention,
Location: Washinton, DC

1999 - Present
Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians
Sponsor: American College of Chest Physicians

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Publications

Journal Articles

5/22/2023
Lee-Sarwar KA, Fischer-Rasmussen K, Bønnelykke K, Bisgaard H, Chawes B, Kelly RS, Lasky-Su J, Zeiger RS, O'Connor GT, Bacharier LB, Carey VJ, Laranjo N, Litonjua AA, Weiss ST. "Omega-3 Fatty Acids Interact with Region Genotype in Association with Childhood Atopy." Nutrients.. 2023 May 22; 15(10)Epub 2023 May 22.

4/21/2023
Shah J, Shadid ILC, Carey VJ, Laranjo N, O'Connor GT, Zeiger RS, Bacharier L, Litonjua AA, Weiss ST, Mirzakhani H. "Early Life Weight Status and Risk of Childhood Asthma or Recurrent Wheeze in Preterm and Term Offspring." The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice.. 2023 Apr 21; Epub 2023 Apr 21.

4/17/2023
Shadid ILC, Brustad N, Lu M, Chawes BL, Bisgaard H, Zeiger RS, O'Connor GT, Bacharier LB, Guchelaar HJ, Litonjua AA, Weiss ST, Mirzakhani H. "Baseline 25(OH)D, timing of supplementation initiation and prenatal vitamin D supplementation efficacy to prevent offspring asthma or recurrent wheeze." The American journal of clinical nutrition.. 2023 Apr 17; Epub 2023 Apr 17.

Books & Chapters

2015
Chapter Title: Asthma: Epidemiology
Book Title: Fishman's Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders
Author List: Litonjua AA, Apter A, Weiss ST
Edited By: Grippi M, Elias J, Fishman J, Kotloff R, Pack A, Senior R
Published By: McGraw-Hill 2015 in New York

2012
Book Title: Vitamin D and the Lung: Mechanisms and Disease Associations. Humana Press: New York, 2012.
Author List: Litonjua AA (Editor)
Published By: Humana Press 2012 in New York

2012
Chapter Title: The role of vitamin D in the development, exacerbation, and severity of asthma and allergic diseases
Book Title: Vitamin D and the Lung: Mechanisms and Disease Associations
Author List: Litonjua AA
Edited By: Litonjua AA
Published By: Humana Press 2012 in New York

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