Dr. Laubach's Education and Early Career

Dr. Laubach majored in Human Biology from Stanford University. She graduated in 1996 with Honors.

She received her medical education at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. After medical school, she completed her internship and residency in Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital in New York City.

Under the mentorship of Drs. Hugh Sampson and Scott Sicherer, pioneers in food allergy, she chose to specialize in Allergy & Immunology. She furthered her training as a Fellow in Allergy & Immunology at Duke University under Drs. Wesley Burks and Rebecca Buckley, nationally-recognized leaders.

Military Service and Training Contributions

After finishing her Fellowship, she spent 3 years at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington, DC. She served as a civilian contractor in the Department of Allergy/Immunology.

She helped care for active duty soldiers and their families. She also trained Army and Navy physicians in the Allergy/Immunology Fellowship Program.

She collaborated with training programs at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, and John’s Hopkins in Baltimore, MD. She participated in weekly and quarterly education sessions.

Career in San Diego and Academic Roles

In 2011, Dr. Laubach moved to San Diego to be closer to family. She worked first at the Allergy & Asthma Medical Group and Research Center (AAMGRC) with Drs. Eli Meltzer, Michael Welch, Nancy Ostrom, and Alex Greiner.

She then joined UCSD faculty when AAMG affiliated with Rady Children’s Hospital in 2014. She served as Clinical Director of the Division of Allergy & Immunology at Rady.

She was Co-Director of the Rady Food Allergy Center and Food Allergy Immunotherapy Clinic. She also served as Section Chief of the Allergy/Immunology/Rheumatology Division on the Medical Staff Executive Committee.

She remains on the Medical Staff of Rady Children’s Hospital. In her academic career, she rose to Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UCSD.

She published articles (ARTICLES) in peer-reviewed medical journals. She trained medical students, residents, and fellows, and served on university and hospital committees.

At Duke, she began her career in food allergy research. She ran an NIH-sponsored study of sublingual immunotherapy for peanut allergy (NIH STUDY).

She participated as a sub-investigator on clinical trials of oral immunotherapy for peanut, egg, and milk (see Reference list of papers below). She mentored Fellows at WRAMC to conduct studies on influenza vaccine safety in people with food allergies (WRAMC STUDY).

She also studied the sensitivity and specificity of skin prick, intradermal, and blood testing for cat allergy. The data was presented at the national AAAAI meeting and published.

In San Diego, she affiliated with AAMCRC and investigated over 100 studies in Allergy & Immunology. She facilitated a collaboration between AAMGRC and UCSD Rady Division of Allergy & Immunology.

They participated in early Phase 2 and 3 trials on AR101, later called Palforzia. It became the first FDA-approved treatment for peanut allergy.

With Dr. Stephanie Leonard, she co-directed the Food Allergy Center at Rady Children’s Hospital. It was one of the first programs designated as a Center of Excellence by FARE.

They conducted dozens of studies on food allergy diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. These included oral immunotherapy for peanut, milk, egg, and multiple-food allergy.

They also studied epicutaneous immunotherapy (e.g., the peanut “patch”). Other research included biologic and nanoparticle treatments for food allergy.

They investigated elemental formula safety in patients with food allergy. Additional studies were conducted as well.

Human Aspect and Advocacy

Dr. Laubach has always been interested in the science of food allergy. She also focuses on the human aspect of living with a potentially life-threatening condition.

In college, she earned a bachelor’s in Human Biology, focusing on medical anthropology. She conducted an ethnographic study on how medical teams disclose difficult information to children and parents.

This was the basis for her honors thesis. She volunteered for 8 summers at Camp Okizu, a camp for children with cancer and their siblings.

This merged her passion for children and growing medical expertise. It also reflected her compassion for those facing medical challenges.

After college, she worked at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. She then entered medical school.

During medical school, she interned at the Washington, DC Office of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She also worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Medicine on a publication about Palliative Care for Children.

In residency, she helped found the palliative care program at Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital. Its mission is to “enhance comfort and relief of symptoms” for children with serious illness and their families.

Since finishing training, she has advocated for children with life-threatening conditions. After moving to San Diego, she was nominated as the Asthma, Allergy, and Anaphylaxis Champion for the local AAP chapter.

She serves on the Executive Committee for the AAP Section on Allergy & Immunology. In the AAAAI, she is co-president of the Section on School-based Asthma, Allergy & Anaphylaxis Management Program (SA3MPRO).

She is also a member of the Adverse Reactions to Food Committee. She served on the FARE Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute advisory board.

She helped bridge the gap between patients and medical researchers. She has traveled to Sacramento and Washington, DC to advocate for allergy protection policies.