UT Physician Pacheco needs to “help heal the Earth” – and its children
HOUSTON – (Sept. 11, 2007) – Coughing, sneezing, runny noses – in Houston, it’s almost a way of life. Allergy sufferers, including children, battle those symptoms every season. They face not only the common allergies, such as outdoor pollens and indoor pets, but also environmental factors in a city ranked fifth in the nation for air pollution by the American Lung Association.
Now the Pediatrics Department at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston has a faculty member who specializes in this growing field. Susan Pacheco, M.D., treats children who suffer from allergies, and also provides medical care to those with inherited and acquired immunodeficiency disorders.
Pediatrician Susan Pacheco, M.D., (center) interacts with students at the Wesleyan School in San Juan, Puerto Rico, while she goes through the “Al Gore slide presentation” as a Climate Project volunteer.
She is one of two Pediatrics faculty members seeing patients at the new UT Allergy and Immunology Clinic, which opened on September 1st.
“Dr. Pacheco joins our faculty during an important phase of the UT Pediatric Respiratory Science Center”, said Giuseppe N. Colasurdo, M.D., dean of the UT Medical School at Houston. “Building on our new alignments with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, we plan to expand our comprehensive services in asthma, allergy & immunology, sleep disorders and pulmonary medicine. Dr. Pacheco is a brilliant clinician and brings to our institution her extensive experience in the biology and treatment of allergic and immunologic disorders. Our goal is to create higher standards for the health care of children in the community.”
Pacheco and her husband, who also is a physician, have called Houston home since 1988, moving from Puerto Rico in 1985. Pacheco’s first language is Spanish, and one of her main goals as a UT physician is to reach out to the Hispanic community. “One of my special interests is cultural sensitivity. I understand some of the customs, traditions and at-home therapies Hispanics respect and try,” Pacheco said. “I hope to bridge that gap and the language barrier to treat some of Houston’s underserved children.”
Pacheco earned her medical degree at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, and completed her residency training at Baylor College of Medicine. She completed her fellowship training in two areas at BCM – one in allergy and immunology and the other in clinical and laboratory immunology. She is a member of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology. Her area of research interest is in mucosal immunology.
During her medical career, Pacheco has received various NIH grant awards for her work in mucosal immunology, nasal vaccines and HIV. She previously treated patients at Texas Children’s Hospital and was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at BCM.
It was two years ago when she decided to leave those positions and put her career in medicine on hold to spend time with her children and take part in another project that she hopes will ultimately benefit her patients and the community.
“I stumbled upon this new project by accident. My children had to see the Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, and persuaded me to go with them. It was part of a homework assignment for them, and an eye opener for me,” Pacheco said. “Before going to see the movie, I was not particular interested in climate change, but seeing it changed my life.”
She immediately decided to take part in efforts to educate the public about global warming. “I feel like this goes hand-in-hand with my being a physician,” Pacheco said. “As a doctor, I help heal the body and the mind, and to do that – I need to help heal the Earth.”
Last December, Pacheco trained with Al Gore’s Global Warming Team to become a climate messenger. She currently works with groups in Puerto Rico and Houston to help people become more aware of global warming and its impact on the planet.
To make an appointment with Pacheco, CALL 1-888-4UT-DOCS. For more information on the new UT Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Clinic, click here.