Ruby Pawankar

Ruby Pawankar is currently the Historian of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) having served as WAO Past-President, 2014-2015, and President, 2012-2013. She is Professor of Allergy, Department of Pediatrics at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, Japan, and Guest Professor at the Kyung Hee University School of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, and Showa University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. After graduating in medicine from the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, India, Prof. Pawankar did her residency and post graduation from BJ Medical College, Pune. Thereafter, she trained in Allergy & Clinical Immunology at Nippon Medical School and Juntendo University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan where she earned her doctorate.

Prof. Pawankar serves on numerous committees of several academic organizations and grant reviews, is a Member/Fellow of many academic organizations, including the Collegium International Allergolicum, AAAAI, Royal College of Physicians, UK and has served as President of some of these organizations. She is also currently the President of the Indian Academy of Allergy. She has delivered numerous orations/named lectures nationally and internationally. She is a recipient of several academic awards including the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award from the President of India for excellence and achievements in medicine.

Prof. Pawankar’s research has focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of allergy, in particular characterizing mast cells and T cells, epithelial cell-immune cell interactions, novel roles of IgE, mast cell-IgE cascade, environmental pollution, microbiome, immunotherapy and new therapies for respiratory allergies. This has resulted in 397 publications including peer-reviewed original articles, invited reviews and book chapters. She is Editor/ Associate Editor of peer-reviewed journals and several books including the WAO White Book on Allergy and Allergy Frontiers and is a co-author of consensus documents.

At an organizational level her vision continues to be to create a channel of dialogue with multidisciplinary stakeholders to address the unmet global public health issue of asthma and allergic disease in an integrated and holistic approach that can lead to increased resources for research, improved patient care, better health care delivery, and preventative strategies.