The asthma & allergy friendly® Certification Program is proud that Dr. Sharmilee Nyenhuis, the recipient of the inaugural Amber Tringale Memorial Award, will present her groundbreaking research at the EAACI Congress 2024.
Dr. Nyenhuis, an Allergist Immunologist, serves as an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago and Chief of the Section of Allergy at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. She will present her poster, “Perceived Impact and Awareness of Climate Change among Climate-Vulnerable Adults with Asthma,” on Friday, May 31st at the EAACI Congress 2024. The annual congress of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) gathers global experts to share the latest research in allergy and clinical immunology.
The Amber Tringale Memorial Award, valued at $10,000, supports healthcare professionals from Ireland or the US for transatlantic travel to present scientific data at prestigious conferences. The award focuses on education and prevention around acute asthma exacerbations and emergency room management.
Named in memory of Amber Tringale, who tragically lost her life to asthma at 48, the award honors her legacy. Amber lived with moderate asthma and passed away unexpectedly due to a severe asthma attack in 2018, leaving behind her husband and five children. Amber’s brother Mike Tringale was a former Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) executive who with Allergy Standards Ltd (ASL) was instrumental in setting up the Certification Program in the USA.
Dr. Nyenhuis’s study looks at how people with asthma in cities understand and feel about extreme weather and air quality. Climate change is making air quality worse with more pollution, hotter temperatures, severe weather, and longer pollen seasons. It’s important to know what patients think about these issues to help them make changes that can reduce the impact of climate change on their asthma.