Punita Ponda, MD

Punita Ponda, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, is Division Chief, Allergy and Immunology at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Einstein. Dr. Ponda cares for pediatric and adult patients with allergic and immunologic diseases. Her clinical interests include IgE-mediated food allergy, eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease, safety of allergen immunotherapy and atopic diseases in early life.

After obtaining her Bachelor of Science from Cornell University in 1995, Dr. Ponda earned her Doctor of Medicine from the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn in 2000. She completed her pediatrics residency at North Shore/Long Island Jewish Health System, Schneider Children’s Hospital in 2003, followed by an allergy and immunology fellowship at the same institution in 2006.

Dr. Ponda’s research interests explore the role of the early life gut microbiome in the development of tolerance to foods and other antigens. Her research focuses on understanding the causes of allergic diseases, exploring novel management strategies and providing safer treatment options during allergen immunotherapy. Dr. Ponda has been principal investigator on many industry-sponsored clinical trials that provide access to new therapies. She has given national and international presentations and her work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed publications as well as book chapters. She is on the editorial board for the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice and Annals of Allergy Asthma and Immunology. She is also a reviewer for the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. Dr. Ponda has been recognized as an Outstanding Reviewer of the Year by the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and has placed in the Top 10 percent of Reviewers in the past.

Dr. Ponda is board certified in Allergy and Immunology. She is a Fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).