Chicago Asthma Consortium upcoming events

How to Properly Conduct a Home Assessment (Wed, August 19, 2026)

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Join us for CAC’s Fall 2026 Lunch & Learn Series!

Busy schedule? Learning about asthma management doesn’t have to take hours. From August through November, join us each month at 12:00 PM for a 30-minute Zoom session featuring asthma experts who will share practical insights and answer your questions about asthma and related health concerns.

These free sessions are open to everyone—from healthcare professionals to community members who want to better support their own health or the health of loved ones.

After registering, you’ll receive Zoom access details in your confirmation email. We look forward to seeing you there!

Join us on August 19 for the first session in CAC’s Fall 2026 Lunch & Learn Series, featuring Gloria Seals and Rhonda Lay of the Sinai Urban Health Institute. In this 30-minute presentation, participants will learn best practices for conducting effective home assessments, including how to identify environmental factors that may impact asthma and overall respiratory health. Whether you're a healthcare professional, community health worker, or caregiver, this session will provide practical tools and insights you can apply in your work and community.

Presenters

Gloria Seals

Gloria Seals joined SUHI in 2000 as SUHI’s first community health worker (CHW), specializing in asthma education and management. Throughout the years and ongoing grant-funded, CHW-led interventions, she has educated and supported children, their caregivers, and adults on proper asthma management. Gloria was promoted multiple times throughout her tenure and in 2022 became SUHI’s CHW Manager. She currently works on the Asthma Home Visiting Collaborative funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the CHW Assistance Program. Gloria oversees SUHI’s CHW interventions and team, mentoring staff, including CHW supervisors, and advises and guides active and future projects.

Gloria has over 40 years’ experience in the healthcare field having worked at many organizations throughout Chicagoland including John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and Roseland Community Hospital.

Passion drives my work. I find profound purpose in walking alongside patients through their challenges, helping to improve their quality of life. Equally fulfilling is training and supporting community health workers. Whether experienced or new to the role, their collaboration increases the collective impact on individuals and communities.

Rhonda Lay

Rhonda M. Lay is currently employed as a Senior Community Health Worker Consultant/CROWD Facilitator for Sinai Urban Health Institute in Chicago, Illinois. In her work at Sinai Urban Health Institute (fondly called SUHI), Rhonda does home visits with children and adults who have uncontrolled asthma, where she educates participants and their families about the disease management, its triggers, medications and how to handle an asthma emergency. She also trains new CHWs, CHWs management team and care coordinators in the Chicagoland area and co-facilitates SUHI’s CHW empowerment group. Rhonda’s background is she was a Registered Respiratory in the Chicagoland area.

The Benefits of IgE Testing for Patients with Asthma (Wed, September 16, 2026)

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Join us for CAC’s Fall 2026 Lunch & Learn Series!

These free sessions are open to everyone—from healthcare professionals to community members who want to better support their own health or the health of loved ones.

After registering, you’ll receive Zoom access details in your confirmation email. We look forward to seeing you there!

Join us on September 16 for the next session in CAC’s Fall 2026 Lunch & Learn Series, featuring Derrick Varner of Thermo Fisher Scientific. In this 30-minute presentation, participants will learn how IgE testing can help identify allergic triggers, support asthma management, and contribute to more personalized treatment plans. Whether you're a healthcare professional, community health worker, or someone interested in learning more about asthma care, this session will provide valuable insights into the role of allergy testing in improving patient outcomes.

Presenter

Derrick Varner, PhD, PA-C, DFAAPA

Derrick Varner, PhD, PA-C, DFAAPA, RDMS retired from the US Air Force after serving for nearly 30 years in November 2015 and decided to make San Antonio home. Attended the Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP) with class 2-98. While serving on active duty, he had the privilege of working in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Aerospace Medicine, Research & Development, Acquisitions, and Academia as the IPAP Clinical Coordinator and Associate Professor with University of Nebraska Medical College.

Since November 2015, he works for Thermo Fisher Scientific/ImmunoDiagnostic Division as Senior Medical Science Liaison (MSL) with the Global Medical and Scientific Affairs Education Team. In this role, the highlights is engaging with key opinion leaders, developing relationships and providing clinical education on Atopic and Autoimmune disease states to healthcare professionals nationally and internationally.

To maintain clinical skills, employed at Laurel Ridge Treatment Center providing medical consultations for pediatric and adults inpatients and another favorite is aesthetic medicine at A’nis Aesthetics & Wellness Center in Cibolo, Texas.

When not traveling, he volunteers with an organization called Nation of Coaches as a Character Coach and assigned to the Texas A&M of San Antonio University Men’s Basketball Team as a resource to the Head Coach, Coaching Staff and Student Athletes. Lastly, he started a free clinic that provides basic primary care and virtual mental healthcare to adults with no to little insurance in the community.

Provider's Workshop - Asthma Updates and Beyond (Fri, September 18, 2026)

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Presenter

Dr. Shimoni Dharia

Advocate Children's Hospital

Dr. Shimoni Dharia is a board-certified pediatric pulmonologist and the Division Director of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Illinois. With a career spanning clinical excellence, leadership, and healthcare strategy, Dr. Dharia brings a comprehensive approach to advancing pediatric respiratory care.

She earned her Doctor of Medicine from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science and completed her pediatric residency at Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital. She further specialized with a fellowship in Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. In addition to her clinical training, Dr. Dharia holds a Master of Business Administration in Medical Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is a Certified Physician Executive through the American Association for Physician Leadership.

Her dual expertise in medicine and healthcare administration supports her work in leading multidisciplinary teams, implementing evidence-based practices, and improving patient outcomes across the pediatric continuum. She is committed to mentoring the next generation of physicians and contributing to innovative, patient-centered care for children with complex pulmonary conditions.

Long Covid and Asthma (Wed, October 21, 2026)

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Join us for CAC’s Fall 2026 Lunch & Learn Series!

These free sessions are open to everyone—from healthcare professionals to community members who want to better support their own health or the health of loved ones.

After registering, you’ll receive Zoom access details in your confirmation email. We look forward to seeing you there!

Join us on October 21 for the next session in CAC’s Fall 2026 Lunch & Learn Series, featuring Dr. Rubabin Tooba of Northwestern Medicine. In this 30-minute presentation, participants will explore the relationship between Long COVID and asthma, including how lingering respiratory symptoms can affect asthma management and overall lung health. Attendees will gain insights into current research, clinical considerations, and strategies for supporting individuals experiencing the ongoing effects of COVID-19. This session is ideal for healthcare professionals, community health workers, and anyone interested in learning more about respiratory health.

Presenter

Rubabin Tooba, MD

Rubabin Tooba, MD is a pulmonary and critical physician with Northwestern Medicine. She has carried a deep interest in obstructive lung disease during her previous roles in Cleveland Clinic and Baylor College of Medicine, under the mentorship of several asthma researchers and leaders. Her recent research has explored the racial/socioeconomic divides of asthma care and the correlation between obesity and asthma. Particularly, her interests lie in phenotypes of asthma, targeted therapies, and the social determinants of health that influence the condition. With gratitude, she joins the initiative of the Chicago Asthma Consortium.

Airways and Equity: Translating Science into Culturally Competent Asthma Care (Wed, November 18, 2026)

Wed, 18 Nov 2026 18:00:00 GMT

Join us for CAC’s Fall 2026 Lunch & Learn Series!

These free sessions are open to everyone—from healthcare professionals to community members who want to better support their own health or the health of loved ones.

After registering, you’ll receive Zoom access details in your confirmation email. We look forward to seeing you there!

Join us on November 18 for the final session in CAC’s Fall 2026 Lunch & Learn Series, featuring John Lyons of AstraZeneca. In this 30-minute presentation, participants will explore how scientific advances in asthma care can be translated into culturally competent, patient-centered approaches that support better health outcomes. The session will highlight the importance of health equity in asthma management and discuss strategies for addressing barriers to care across diverse communities. This presentation is valuable for healthcare professionals, community health workers, advocates, and anyone committed to advancing equitable asthma care.

Presenter

John Lyons, PharmD, BCTXP, AE-C

John Lyons is the asthma portfolio medical science liaison for Chicagoland and Northern IL. A pharmacist by training, he joined AstraZeneca with almost a decade of clinical pharmacy experience in numerous therapeutic areas including heart, kidney, liver, and lung transplantation in both adult and pediatric patients, immunology, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, end-stage kidney disease, end-stage liver disease, and end-stage lung disease. John received his undergraduate degree and PharmD at the University of Pittsburgh, completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant Specialty Residency at University Health System in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, he was most recently a lung transplant and pulmonology clinical pharmacist at Loyola University Medical Center, a time during which he developed and strengthened his passion for clinical immunology and respiratory care.