Richard Weber, MD, Begins Tenure as President of American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

National Jewish Health allergist Richard Weber, MD, began his tenure November 13, 2012, as President of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, a national association of 5,700 allergists, immunologists and allied healthcare professionals. The college is dedicated to improving the quality of patient care in allergy and immunology, which makes it a natural fit for Dr. Weber.

“I have done research over the years, but have always viewed myself primarily as a clinician and a teacher,” said Dr. Weber. “I try hard to focus on my clinical skills, keeping on top of the latest advances and, above all, taking time with patients and listening closely to their concerns.”

As president of the college, Dr. Weber plans to encourage practicing allergists to look beyond their bread and butter practices of treating hay fever and giving allergy shots to become more involved in addressing a wider variety of immune conditions for which they have training and expertise that can benefit patients.

“Clinical immunology permeates so much of medicine, from inflammatory bowel disease, to rheumatoid arthritis and some cardiac issues,” said Dr. Weber. “That is part of our training as allergist/immunologists, and we can contribute to diagnosis and care of those patients.”

Dr. Weber has played numerous roles within the college, from serving as a regent for a decade, chairing the aerobiology committee for 15 years, and leading its annual workshop on pollen identification for 25 years. For the past several years, Dr. Weber, a devoted amateur photographer, has also taken cover photographs of different plants for each issue of the association’s  journal, the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, and written an accompanying essay on the plants’ biology, natural history and role in allergies.

At National Jewish, in addition to seeing a wide variety of allergic and asthmatic patients, Dr. Weber has developed special expertise in urticaria, and aspirin desensitization for patients with allergies to the medication.  As one of the only places in the nation to perform such therapy, Dr. Weber sees patients from across the country.