Our mission at the UA Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine (PACCS) is to provide the best medical care to our patients in an environment that fosters patient safety, innovation, training excellence and scientific inquiry. Our division houses several clinical programs and four primary active fellowship training programs in: Pulmonary & Critical Care, Allergy & Immunology, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine...

Sairam Parthasarathy, MD
Chief, UA Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine

Read More

Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine

Division Overview

The Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine was created in 1968, two years after the opening of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

The inaugural division chief Benjamin Burrows, MD, an emphysema and pulmonary physiology specialist, was recruited from the University of Chicago. Dr. Burrows was a visionary and left a legacy of pulmonary translational research, initially funded by the NIH Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) in Pulmonary Diseases. He launched the first “center of excellence” at the UA, the Arizona Respiratory Center, in 1971. 

Our current division chief, Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, arrived in 2011. Prior to that, he was affiliated with the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System’s Tucson VA Medical Center as chief of research, section chief for pulmonary and critical care medicine, and head of the sleep medicine laboratory. He served in similar roles in Chicago before that with the Loyola University Medical Center and Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital. Today, he also serves as medical director of the Banner – University Medical Center Tucson Center for Sleep Disorders that he established in 2012 and the founding director of the UA Health Sciences Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences (established in 2016). With his research on sleep-disordered breathing funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) for more than two decades, Dr. Parthasarathy also serves as a special advisor to NIH's for the 2021 Sleep Disorders Strategic Plan. 

Our division now numbers more than 30 physicians and scientists. It is home to many nationally and internationally known physician-scientists pursuing breakthroughs in clinical-translational research for various pulmonary diseases and conditions. These include Ken Knox, MD, known for his research in HIV-related pulmonary diseases and clinical expertise in sarcoidosis, fungal diagnostics, immunologic lung disease and bronchoalveolar lavage and Joe G. N. “Skip” Garcia, MD, a physician-scientist on acute respiratory distress syndrome and past senior vice president, UA Health Sciences. Furthermore, our Pulmonary Services program was named among the top 50 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2015-16, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Meet Our Fellows 

2023-24 fellows in allergy, critical care, pulmonary and sleep medicine (click image to enlarge):

News

[UArizona Internal Medicine Student Association members with IMSA faculty advisor Amy Sussman, MD (center), at a Post-Match Day celebration at Zinburger in Tucson: Bailey Antonowicz (MS4), Katie Pulling (MS4), Sanjay Menghani (MS4), Lauren Murphy (MS4), Dr. Sussman, Lupita Molina(MS4), Julia Couto (MS4), and Molly Courtright (MS2).]
Post-Match Day celebration turns into student-to-student mentoring session, honors for faculty

Dr. Amy Sussman, Internal Medicine Student Association’s UArizona Chapter advisor, launched the dinner as a debrief for graduating medical students to share advice with first- and second-year students. She was picked this year by all COM-T students for Outstanding Teacher in Clinical Sciences and Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award honors.
[Group photo of DOM Annual Awards Ceremony winners with faculty and collage (at bottom) of shots of Arizona Inn; Drs. Jim Liao, Sarah Upson and Laura Meinke; and Drs. Jim Knepler, Liz Connick and Alex Perry]
Twenty-five share in honors at 2024 Department of Medicine Awards Ceremony

In a return to the Arizona Inn for the event, two Class of 2024 students won dual honors: Lupita Molina for top student in nephrology and endocrinology; and Michael Haekwang Kim for infectious diseases and rheumatology. Other key honors included Dr. Daniel Brown – Residency Director's Award; Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine chief fellow Dr. Sarah Upson – Outstanding Medicine Fellow, and Lauren Murphy – the J.W. Smith Outstanding Medical Student of the Year.
[Collage of images for the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Eller College of Management and Eller Executive Education program overseeing the new Advanced Healthcare Leadership Academy]
Applicants being accepted to new COM-T, Eller Advanced Healthcare Leadership Academy

The program developed collaboratively by the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson and Eller College of Management’s Eller Executive Education program re-envisions and replaces COM-T’s Learning to Lead program. Applications are due Friday, May 17. Learn more and get yours in today.

More News