International Eosinophil Society, Inc.

Steven Ackerman, PhD

Dr. Ackerman, who did his postdoctoral training with Jerry Gleich at the Mayo Clinic from 1979-1984, has nearly 45 years' experience studying the roles of innate immune cells, mainly eosinophils, in host immune responses and pathogenesis of parasitic, allergic and gastrointestinal diseases, focused on asthma and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). He has a world-class reputation performing seminal basic studies defining eosinophil protein biochemistry, structural biology, cellular and molecular biology, including mechanisms that regulate eosinophil gene transcription and development, roles of eosinophil-fibroblast interactions in fibrogenesis in eosinophil-associated diseases, and mechanisms that regulate eosinophil-mediated tissue remodeling and fibrosis. Recent translational and clinical research includes co-development of the Esophageal String TestÒ (EST) for minimally invasive monitoring of disease status in patients with EoE, and the development of novel peptide nanoparticle biased antagonists targeting CCR3 that block eosinophil recruitment into tissues. Dr. Ackerman is currently a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Hirohito Kita, MD

Dr. Kita is a professor of medicine and immunology at Mayo Clinic Arizona. In 1983, he received an M.D. degree from Mie University, Mie, Japan. From 1988 to 1993, his post-graduate works for the study of immunobiology of eosinophils were performed under the direction of Dr. Gerald J. Gleich, Mayo Clinic Minnesota. In 1994, Dr. Kita joined the faculty at Mayo Clinic Minnesota and continued to study the mechanisms of eosinophil activation and inflammatory mediator release. Dr. Kita’s laboratory is committed to understanding immunologic mechanisms of allergic diseases and identifying novel strategies to treat the disease. Toward this goal, the current studies include (i) mechanisms involved in initiation and persistence of innate and adaptive type 2 immune responses to environmental allergens, (ii) molecular mechanisms involved in epithelial secretion of IL-33 and other alarmins, and (iii) immunologic mechanisms of asthma, food allergy, and type 2 inflammation in mouse models and humans. In 2019, Dr. Kita moved his laboratory to the Arizona campus of Mayo Clinic. Dr. Kita received MERIT Award from NIAID and 2023 Investigator of the Year Award from Mayo Clinic Arizona.    

Allison Fryer, PhD

Dr. Allison Fryer has demonstrated that eosinophils are actively recruited to airway nerves where they change nerve architecture, neurotransmitter content and neurotransmitter release in allergic, infectious, and environmental models of asthma. Her research  was foundational to the now, widely accepted, tenet that neuroimmune interactions contribute to chronic inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Fryer’s research is published in over 115 peer reviewed papers and book chapters. She is a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society. She served as an editor for the British Journal of Pharmacology and for the American Journal Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Fryer has trained 16 PhD students and 14 postdoctoral fellows, many of whom are now leaders in academia and industry. She is currently Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the School of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University.  A member of the International Eosinophil Society for many years, she has served on the steering committee since 2018, and led the scientific committee that planned the 2019 IES meeting in Portland.  

Gerald J. Gleich, MD

Dr. Gerald J. Gleich was born in Escanaba, Michigan and received his degree in Medicine from the University of Michigan. He obtained Internal Medicine residency training at Philadelphia General Hospital and Jackson Memorial Hospital and was a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force. He received postdoctoral training at the University of Rochester and then established a research laboratory for allergic diseases at the Mayo Clinic and Foundation. At Mayo, he was Professor of Medicine and Immunology, Chair of the Department of Immunology, Distinguished Investigator of the Mayo Foundation, and the George M. Eisenberg Professor of Medicine and Immunology. Presently, he is Professor of Dermatology and Medicine at the University of Utah. Dr. Gleich has had a life-long professional commitment to understanding the eosinophil with a focus on its distinctive granules. He and his colleagues have isolated, characterized, identified the cDNAs and the genes and established assays for measurement and localization of all of the principal granule proteins. These efforts lead to the recognition that eosinophil degranulation with release of cytotoxic and cytostimulatory cationic proteins into tissues is characteristic of eosinophil-associated diseases and to recognition of several novel syndromes. Dr. Gleich has served on many committees and editorial boards, including Chair of the WHO Subcommittee on Standardization of Allergens, the editorial board of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the editorial Board of the Journal of Immunology, Member and Chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors, NIAID, Member and Chair of the Immunological Sciences Study Section NIH and Chair of the Data and Safety Monitoring Board of the NIAID. Dr. Gleich has received numerous awards and honors, including memberships in Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Omega Alpha and Sigma Xi, the American College of Physicians (Fellow), the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the American Association of Immunologists, the Collegium Internationale Allergologicum, the Association of American Physicians; named lectureships including the John M. Sheldon Memorial Lecturer of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 1976, 1982 and 1988, the Stoll-Stunkard Lecturer American Society of Parasitologists, Distinguished Lecturer in Medical Sciences Mayo Clinic and Foundation; and awards including the Landmark in Allergy Award Recipient, Fellowship award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Honorable Membership in the Pharmacia Allergy Research Foundation, Mayo Clinic Distinguished Alumni Award, Scientific Achievement Award of Life Sciences Pennsylvania and Original Member, Highly Cited Researchers database, ISI Thomson Scientific. Lastly, Dr. Gleich has contributed over 700 articles to the scientific literature. He has seven children and eight grandchildren. He enjoys skiing and hiking.