• Gryphon Login
  • MyCourses
  • Alumni
  • UCLA Health
  • Contact Us
Prospective Students

Prospective Students

Prospective Students
  • Admissions
    Procedure & Timelines
    • Admissions Timeline
    • Admissions Procedure
    • Basis of Selection
    • COVID-19 Impacts on Admissions
    • Housing Information
    • Interview Process
    • Prerequisites
    General Information
    • Statement of Diversity
    • Mission Statement
    • Curriculum Resdesign
    • Honor Code
    • FAQs
    • Admissions Brochure
    • Admissions Timeline
    • Admission Procedure
    • Basis of Selection
    • Competencies
    • COVID-19 Impact on Admissions
    • DACA Applicants
    • DGSOM Mission Statement
    • FAQs
    • Honor Code
    • Housing Information
    • Interview Process
    • Statement of Diversity
    • Virtual Events
  • Outreach & Pipeline Programs
    Summer Pre-Health and Postbaccaluareate Programs
    • UCLA SHPEP
    • UCLA PREP
    • UCLA RAP
    Outreach and Recruitment
    • Conferences and Events
    • Stay Connected!
    • Contact Us
    • Conferences & Outreach Events
    • Summer Pre-Health and Postbaccalaureate Programs
    • Contact Us
    • Stay Connected
  • Financial Aid & Scholarships
  • Degrees & Programs
  • Curriculum
  • Student Life
    Why Choose UCLA
    • Research
    • Clinical Work
    • Service Opportunities
    • Global Health Impact
    • Why You'll Love LA
    Campus Life
    • Student Organizations
    • Annual Events
    • Day in the Life
    • Around Campus
    • Photo Galleries
    • Medical and Research News
    • Medical Student Council
    • Geffy Guide
    • Search Campus and Health News
    • Service Opportunities
    • Global Health Impact
    • Why You'll Love LA
    • Photo Galleries
    • Day in the Life
    • Around Campus
    • Medical and Research News
    • Search Campus and Health News
  • How to Apply
  • Gryphon Login
  • MyCourses
  • Alumni
  • UCLA Health
  • Contact Us

Prospective Students

Search Campus and Health News

Search Campus and Health News

Search Campus and Health News

  • Health News
  • A Day in the Life
  • Around Campus
  • Medical and Research News
  • Health News
  • A Day in the Life
  • Around Campus
  • Medical and Research News
  1. Home
  2. Prospective Students
  3. Student Life
  4. Search Campus and Health News

Search Campus and Health News

Share this

Day in the Life

Title

What does an allergist do? The magic of making life better

Day in the Life

Date
09/28/2018
Article
What does an allergist do? The magic of making life better

To pursue an education in allergology in the mid-20th century, an allergist might as well have attended the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "It was a little bit of a potion business," says Maria Garcia-Lloret, MD.

Dr. Garcia-Lloret, an associate professor of pediatrics and fellowship program director in the Division of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM), has been a pediatric allergist for 15 years. She says the difference between past and present is like day and night.

What does an allergist do?

Allergists see patients who have reactions to benign substances. This specialty spans all organ systems.

"You can have allergies in your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your skin, your lungs and even your gastrointestinal tract," says Dr. Garcia-Lloret.

Maria Garcia-Lloret, MD

Maria Garcia-Lloret, MD

Allergies impact people of all ages. In most cases, an allergy begins in infancy or childhood and evolves as a patient grows into adulthood. An allergist has to be versatile to treat patients in a range of ages, suffering from a range of disorders. 

"Because of the diversity, it is extremely popular," Dr. Garcia-Lloret says. "For every spot I have for training, I have 90 applicants. That is the beauty of the specialty. It is very intellectually challenging."

How has the specialty evolved?

Dr. Garcia-Lloret says the study of food allergies has changed dramatically in recent decades. When she finished her fellowship in pediatric allergy and immunology, her plan was to work in gene therapy or primary immunodeficiency. "Food allergies were like a side business that no one cared about," she says.

But in 2000, she began to witness a steady increase in the number of children with food allergies. "The adverse reactions to food, whether food allergy or food intolerance, didn't exist before. The allergists who were trained before 2000 didn't have the training on these adverse reactions."

What does an allergist do today? There are cells and proteins that tell the whole story and new ways of recognizing previously unidentified allergic diseases. 

"If you told me when I finished my fellowship that I was going to be a specialist in food allergy, I would have laughed at you," says Dr. Garcia-Lloret. "I think the world of the specialty. Some clinicians can say, 'I save lives.' But I can say, 'We save lives and make life better.'"

By Emily Williams

Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on Flickr Follow us on Sharecare
Top 10 U.S. Medical Schools
  • Giving
  • Publications
  • Newsroom
  • Weekly Digest
  • Directory
  • Contact Us
  • Diversity
  • Emergency
  • Maps & Directions
  • UC Regents
  • Abuse Free
  • Volunteer
  • Biomed Library
  • Disability Resources
  • UCLA Health
  • Smoke-Free
  • Sitemap
  • Terms of Use
Top 10 U.S. Medical Schools
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on Flickr Follow us on Sharecare