Mark Ellis, M.D., has worked for more than 25 years at CHOC Children’s. He is division chief of the PSF Allergy and Immunology Division and director of the CHOC Children’s Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Program. He earned his medical degree at Tulane University School of Medicine, did his pediatric residency at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, and did his allergy-immunology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. He is board certified in pediatrics in addition to allergy and immunology. 

 

Since 1986, Dr. Ellis has been involved in approximately 71 asthma research projects and more than 20 studies relating to allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, urticaria, and atopic dermatitis. Dr. Ellis is actively involved as principal investigator and sub-investigator in the evaluation of safety and efficacy of both adult and pediatric asthma and allergy medication for pharmaceutical companies. Working alongside his colleagues in the CHOC Children’s Eosinophilic Esophagitis Clinic, Dr. Ellis is studying medications and treatments that can help reduce and eliminate eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) symptoms, including the use of anti–interleukin-5 drugs. 

 

Opened in 2008, the CHOC Children’s Eosinophilic Esophagitis Clinic offers children from Southern California and beyond a place where they can get the very latest, research-based care for EoE and its symptoms.

 

 “As a multispecialty clinic that combines the expertise of pediatric allergy and immunology with pediatric gastroenterology and dietary counseling, we are able to answer most questions caregivers and patients have all in one visit,” Dr. Ellis said. “The close communication between all of the specialists on each child’s team allows us to provide coordinated care that is difficult to find elsewhere.”

 

The Eosinophilic Esophagitis Clinic is one of only a handful of such clinics in the region. Because the clinic is part of CHOC Children’s, our physicians are able to work very closely with one another across disciplines to provide patients with the very best care possible. 

 

“CHOC associates always do what’s right for the patient,” Dr. Ellis said. “For example, if a patient needs bronchoscopy as well as gastrointestinal endoscopy, CHOC’s pulmonary and gastroenterology teams will do the procedures in a coordinated way while the patient is sedated to save the patient a second visit. The staff at CHOC have the most experience with complicated pediatric patients in Orange County.”

 

Throughout his many years of research, Dr. Ellis has been published in journals including the Journal of Infectious Diseases, the Annals of Allergy, the Journal of Pediatrics, and Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. As time marches on, so will the hard work of Dr. Ellis and the rest of his team at the Eosinophilic Esophagitis Clinic. With the hope that as the clinic expands and research yields new findings, CHOC will be able to offer children with EoE even more therapeutic options.