Carla M. Davis, M.D. is professor of pediatrics and chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at the Howard University College of Medicine. She is serving as the President of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. She received her BS in Chemical Engineering from Howard University and her MD from Duke University. She completed her Allergy/Immunology Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), staying on as a faculty member and rising to be the Chief of the Immunology, Allergy, and Retrovirology Division in the BCM Department of Pediatrics. She is the founder and was the Director of the NIH-funded Texas Children’s Hospital Food Allergy Program from 2015-2024.
Her work focuses on improving the quality of life for children with allergic and immunologic diseases, most specifically food allergy and asthma, and has participated as a site principal investigator in multiple NIH-funded clinical trials. She has >20 years of experience in leading translational, educational and clinical research efforts, with over 145 publications. She leads community initiatives to address medical and food insecurity in underserved populations to mitigate health disparities. Dr. Davis has special expertise in food allergies, eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease and asthma. She leads a translational laboratory to discover underlying molecular pathophysiologic mechanisms in allergic diseases.
Educational Scholars Fellowship Program
Baylor College of Medicine
2011
Allergy and Immunology Fellowship
Baylor College of Medicine
2003
Training Program for Clinical Research on AIDS
Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine
2001
Pediatric Residency
Baylor College of Medicine
2000
Medicine
Duke University
1997
Chemical Engineering
Howard University
1992
Specialty Areas: Allergies and Asthma, Food Allergy, Eosinophilic esophagitis
BCM Principal Investigator: A phase 2 randomized double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of Dupilumab in subjects with eosinophilic gastritis. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. 2/22/2021-2/21/2024. $186,793. Grant.
BCM Principal Investigator: Safety and Tolerability of Shrimp Oral Immunotherapy in Shrimp Allergic Subjects, R34AI157948. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. 4/15/2021-3/31/22. $195,170. Grant.
BCM Principal Investigator: Controlling and Preventing Asthma Progression and Severity in Kids with Omalizumab. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. 2/24/20-6/30/24. $602,080. Grant.
BCM Principal Investigator: Systems Biology of Early Atopy (SUNBEAM). National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. 3/1/21-2/28/22. $717,815. Grant.
BCM Principal Investigator: A Prospective, Multicenter Study To Compare And Validate Endoscopic, Histologic, Molecular, And Patient-Reported Outcomes In Pediatric And Adult Patients With Eosinophilic Esophagitis (Eoe), Gastritis (Eg), And Colitis (Ec). National Institute of Health Rare Diseases Network. 2019-2021. $10,000. Grant.
BCM Co-Investigator: Microneedles for Allergy Immunotherapy. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. 2019. $26,689. Grant
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0952791525000457
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Swallowed topical corticosteroids have been used off-label for treating eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in pediatric patients for some time. Despite their widespread use, there was no FDA-approved swallowed topical corticosteroid available at the time of this study. Budesonide oral suspension (BOS) represents a novel formulation of topical corticosteroid, designed as a viscous suspension to optimize residency time in the esophageal mucosa. Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials were conducted in adolescents and adults with EoE to evaluate the safety and efficacy of BOS. This study pooled data specifically from adolescents enrolled in both trials to assess the safety and efficacy in this age group.
Swallowed topical corticosteroids (STS) are a highly effective medical option to treat eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), but are also associated with potential side effects related to systemic absorption, including adrenal suppression or insufficiency (AI). This study aimed to examine children with EoE treated with STS who developed AI and assess whether the dose of STS, type of STS, or other factors may be associated with the development of AI.
Food protein induced proctocolitis (FPIP) in infants is characterized by hematochezia caused by inflammation of the distal colon secondary to a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction to food proteins, typically cow’s milk. Dietary elimination of the offending food protein is associated with resolution of hematochezia. In clinical practice, many infants with suspected FPIP remain on a cow’s milk free diet until 12 months of age, despite previous studies showing that only 15% to 20% of infants develop recurrent hematochezia following re-exposure to the suspected food allergen. Thus, this study aimed to assess whether an early imbalance in infant gut colonization might provide an alternative, nonallergy explanation for the distal colon inflammation seen in infants with suspected FPIP.
Self-reported food allergies (FAs) affect approximately 8% of the US pediatric and approximately 10% of the adult population, which reflects potentially disproportionate increases among ethnically and racially minoritized groups. Multiple gaps and unmet needs exist regarding FA disparities. There is reported evidence of disparities in FA outcomes, and the FA burden may also be disproportionate in low-income families. Low family income has been associated with higher emergency care spending and insecure access to allergen-free food. Pharmacoinequity arises in part as a result of structural racism still experienced by historically marginalized populations today. Historically redlined communities continue to experience greater rates of neighborhood-level air pollution and indoor allergen exposure, lack of transportation to medical appointments, poverty, and lower prescription rates of necessary medications. Clinical research needs racially and ethnically diverse participation to ensure generalizability of research findings and equitable access to medical advances, but race reporting in clinical trials has been historically poor. Addressing health disparities in FA is a priority of clinical care, with professional organizations such as the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology having a prominent role to play in mitigating the challenges faced by these individuals. In this position statement we recommend some key steps to address this important issue.
Diagnosis and management of shrimp allergy
Shrimp allergy, the most common food allergy in the United States, affects up to 2% of the population. Its etiology is multi-factorial with the combination of genetic predisposition and environmental exposures. This review summarizes the latest diagnosis and management strategies for shrimp allergy. Currently, the double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge is the gold standard for diagnosis. Moreover, mainstream and experimental management strategies include food allergen avoidance, the FDA-approved omalizumab, and oral immunotherapy. Herein, we emphasize the urgent need to develop more effective diagnostic tools and therapies for shrimp allergy.
Novel approaches to prevent or cure allergic diseases
Prevention remains a critical goal to improve quality of life, given the chronic nature of allergic conditions and the interplay between them contributing to the atopic march. In this review, we will highlight key novel approaches to preventing allergic disease using a top-down approach (primary to secondary to tertiary). Significant advancements in the field have resulted in cutting-edge therapies and options for patients to optimize their health and quality of life. These include early introduction of allergenic foods; oral, sublingual, epicutaneous, and subcutaneous immunotherapy; biologic therapy; and elimination of allergen or irritant skin exposures. Further research and developments are necessary to prevent the atopic march and continue the progression of diagnostic and treatment modalities in allergic diseases.
Addressing Pharmacoequity in Food Allergy
In the past 5 years, new therapies for food-allergic patients have transformed food-allergy management from avoidance only to the possibility of treatment with 2 options currently available to treat food-allergic patients and prevent reactions to accidental exposures. 1,2
Gallagher et al 3 report on one institution’s experience with oral immunotherapy and the disparities that were noted in association with socioeconomic status and race. The authors’ analysis included 1,028 pediatric peanut-allergic patients, 148 of whom were treated with peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT). Despite adjustments for gender, affluence, and disadvantage, Black patients were noted to participate in OIT 5 times fewer (odds ratio 0.191; 95% confidence interval 0.068–0.540) than other patients.
Included in this analysis were socioeconomic factors, such as disadvantage and affluence indices and insurance status, all 3 of which could affect access to care and quality of care. However, individual factors such as education, health literacy, trust, and provider bias were not addressed in this study, a notable limitation.
The Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal disease Researchers (CEGIR) and The International Gastrointestinal Eosinophil Researchers (TIGERs) organized a daylong symposium at the 2024 annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. The symposium featured new discoveries in basic and translational research as well as debates on the mechanisms and management of eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases. Updates on recent clinical trials and consensus guidelines were also presented. We summarize the updates on eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases presented at the symposium.
International:
Texas Children's Hospital International Colloquium, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine; Food Allergies; April 20, 2010
Third International Gastrointestinal Eosinophilic Disease Research Symposium 2011: New Frontier and Future of EoE at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, San Francisco, California; Role of Mast Cells and T Cells in EoE; March 18, 2011
North American Veterinary Dermatology Forum; Human Food Allergies; April 15, 2011
Mexican Gastrointestinal Congress and Symposium, Jurica, Querétaro, June 28-30, 2012
Texas Children's Hospital International Colloquium, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine; “Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis”, March 10, 2015 XIII Congreso Internacional de Pediatría del Colegio de Pediatría de Nuevo León "Monterrey 2015", July 8-10, 2015
ImmunoCAP International Symposium, Emerging Data on New Shrimp Allergen Components – What We Know and What We Need, Uppsala, Sweden, October 26, 2016
52nd International Congress of Allergy and Immunology, Immunomodulatory Effects of Food Allergy Immunotherapy, Alexandria, Egypt, February 22, 2017
52nd International Congress of Allergy and Immunology, Managing Eosinophilic Esophagitis with Precision and Accuracy, Alexandria, Egypt, February 24, 2017j. Third Annual Meeting of the Arab Society of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology, Al Azhar University, Allergy and Immunology Center, Managing Eosinophilic Esophagitis with Precision and Accuracy, Cairo, Egypt, February 26, 2017
National:
2010 PriMed Harvard/BCM Southwest Conference and Exhibition, Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Session; Common Food Allergies in Children, March 5, 2010
William T. Shearer Innovations in Primary Immunodeficiency and Clinical immunology Symposium, Learning About Immunoregulation Through Food Allergy, February 9, 2013
Primary Moderator, The 4th International Gastrointestinal Eosinophil Research Symposium (TIGERS); Feb. 22, 2013, San Antonio, TX; Discussion Leader, TIGERS Lunch Session: How Do I Choose What Treatment to Use? Diet vs. Steroids, Pros and Cons, February 22, 2013, San Antonio, TX
Primary Discussion Leader, “Eosinophilic Esophagitis”, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology National Conference, February 25, 2013, San Antonio, TX
Pro/Con Debate: Empiric Elimination Diets are Better than Targeted Elimination Diets for the Management of Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Con, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology National Conference, February 26, 2013, San Antonio, TX
65th Annual BCM Pediatric Postgraduate Symposium, Childhood Food Allergies - Testing and Treatment, April 11, 2013, Houston, TX.
Primary Discussion Leader, “Asthma Management Amongst Minority Populations: Practical Insights for Clinicians, Researchers, and Public Health Planners” American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology National Conference, March 3, 2014, San Diego, CA
American Academy of Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology Leadership Institute Annual Workshop, Stopping Complainers and Energy Drainers-Using Leadership Concepts to Deal with Difficult People, February 28, 2014, San Antonio, TX.
Discussion Leader at the CEGIR/TIGERS EGID Symposium: Session 101I: How Do I Choose What Treatment to Use? Diet vs. Steroids: Pros and Cons on Thursday, March 3, 2016, Los Angeles, CA.
Dr. Carla Davis, the 2026 president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), joins Kortney and Dr. Payel Gupta to discuss improving access to allergy care, reducing health disparities, and integrating AI into allergy medicine.
August 2025: Top Five Things FITs Should Know About Healthcare Disparities. Carla M. Davis, MD, FAAAAI, Chair of Pediatrics and Child Health at Howard University College of Medicine, President-Elect of the AAAAI.
