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Tamara Perry, M.D.
Associate Professor, Pediatrics
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine
perrytamarat@uams.edu
2006-2009 Cohort
Project Title: “Asthma in the Delta Region of Arkansas: Impact of Environmental Factors”




About the Project:

This research aimed to characterize asthma severity among high-risk rural children and examine the impact of environmental factors on asthma morbidity and health outcomes. The specific aims of the project examined the impact of home environmental exposure to endotoxin on asthma severity and atopy status in the rural setting among predominately African-American, low-income children. The project also examined the impact of aeroallergen sensitization, aeroallergen exposure, and other home environment characteristics on asthma morbidity. 

Biosketch:

Tamara T. Perry, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine and researcher at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI).  She received her medical degree from UAMS in 1997 and completed a combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residency at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital in 2001. After residency, Dr. Perry completed fellowship training in Allergy and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Dr. Perry joined the faculty of UAMS in August 2004 where she is a member of the Division of Pediatric Allergy/Immunology and The Center for Respiratory, Asthma, and Allergic Disorders.

Dr. Perry’s primary research interest focuses on the importance of environmental factors on asthma with special emphasis on minority and underserved populations. Her primary asthma research focuses on pediatric asthma in the Mississippi Delta Region of Arkansas. Since joining the faculty, Dr. Perry designed and implemented a pilot study examining the prevalence of asthma among school-aged children living in the Delta region. The pilot study, funded by the UAMS Dean’s Research Development Fund, revealed that nearly one-third of children in the study were "at risk" for asthma with levels of morbidity similar to those previously reported in urban environments.

Dr. Perry’s RWJ Physician Faculty Scholars project entitled, “Asthma in the Delta Region of Arkansas: Impact of Environmental Factors” aimed to characterize asthma severity among rural children with asthma and examine the impact of environmental factors on asthma morbidity measures and asthma outcomes. Dr. Perry’s long-term research goals include designing and implementing environmental and genetic interventions designed and tailored for the specific needs of minority, low-income children with asthma in the Delta and other rural regions of the U.S. Dr. Perry hopes that her research efforts will significantly impact disparities in asthma outcomes among minority, low-income and other high risk asthma populations.

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