A Closer Look at Our New Asthma Clinic: An Interview with Dr. Dania Shakaroun
Severe asthma remains a persistent and difficult-to-manage condition in
Southeast Michigan, prompting the development of our new
Asthma Clinic. We spoke with
Dr. Dania Shakaroun, who leads the initiative, to understand its purpose, early impact, and long-term vision.
“The severity of asthma in Southeast Michigan is significant,” Dr. Shakaroun noted. “We saw patients with
moderate to severe asthma who remained poorly controlled despite appropriate inhaler therapy. Many of them were strong candidates for
advanced testing or
biologic therapy, but escalation was often delayed or fragmented.”
The clinic was created to deliver a
centralized, comprehensive model of asthma care that integrates phenotype assessment, treatment history, comorbidity evaluation, and barrier mitigation. “In many cases,” she explained, “we’re able to perform
same-visit allergy and pulmonary evaluation, determine
biologic eligibility, and initiate the escalation strategy without delay.”
Who should be referred? “Our target patients,” she clarified, “are those with
uncontrolled asthma—especially if they are requiring
frequent steroids, have
recurrent exacerbations, or if the conversation has already shifted toward
biologic therapy. Those are the referrals we most want to see.” She emphasized early referral rather than waiting for multiple failures or hospitalizations.
Although active for less than a year, early impact has been encouraging. The ability to execute evaluation, testing, and treatment adjustments in a single visit has already led to improved disease stability. Over the coming months, she expects to see measurable reductions in
steroid use, emergency visits, and
hospitalizations.
Looking forward, Dr. Shakaroun envisions expansion. “In the next six to twelve months, we want to increase awareness and grow our referral volume. Long term, we hope to serve as an
education hub and eventually develop asthma-focused
research efforts within the division.”
Multidisciplinary collaboration has been central to the clinic’s success. “Working closely with allergy has been transformative,” she explained. “During our
Comprehensive Asthma Clinic on K13, the allergy team can
scope patients during the same visit to evaluate for
nasal polyps and perform
allergy testing immediately. That level of on-site coordination dramatically accelerates diagnosis and treatment alignment.”
The second clinical service, the
K17 Asthma Clinic, runs every Friday and focuses on advanced asthma management and treatment optimization. The
K13 Comprehensive Clinic incorporates allergy collaboration for deeper phenotyping and procedural access.
“If a patient’s asthma isn’t controlled—especially if they’re on frequent steroids or you’re already thinking about biologics—refer them. That’s why we built this clinic.”
— Dr. Dania Shakaroun
Challenges remain, particularly around
inhaler adherence and
payer approval for biologics. “Some patients simply aren’t using inhalers consistently or correctly,” said Dr. Shakaroun. “We’re improving follow-up structure and engaging insurers earlier to prevent care delays.”
Spotlight: Dr. Genva Tatem, New Editor-in-Chief of ATS Scholar
We are proud to highlight Dr. Genva Tatem, who was recently appointed Editor-in-Chief of ATS Scholar. The role has already become one of the most meaningful parts of her career. “It’s been a great opportunity,” she shared, “being able to help people get their educational work out and published and disseminated, and advance their careers has been a highlight of my career thus far.”
Dr. Tatem’s enthusiasm comes not only from the editorial work itself, but from seeing how scholarship can reshape careers. As she explained, guiding authors through the process from submission to publication offers a firsthand look at how impactful educational research can be.
One message she stressed for both fellows and faculty is the value of developing peer-review skills early.
“It’s not something that we normally teach,” she noted, “but it’s a great opportunity to really understand how good research is done and helps you develop your projects even that much more effectively from the very outset.”
She encourages fellows who are interested in learning how peer review actually works—the “behind the curtain” view, as she calls it—to reach out. Reviewing manuscripts under supervision, discussing editorial decisions, and examining what makes a submission strong or weak can all accelerate academic growth. “There are lots of chances to learn how to do it,” she said, “and to understand how getting a publication from submission to actually out in the world really works.”
Dr. Tatem welcomes fellows to connect with her about opportunities to participate in peer review and begin cultivating this essential academic skill.
