About Dr Kent Woo, a member of The Allergy Immunology Clinic

If you are reading this, I am guessing that you are curious about my story. I am writing this to communicate with you as my audience. I figured that if I do not tell you about myself, no one else will. Unless you are a detective or a stalker, people will just make assumptions. Perhaps sharing my story with you will allow for a better connection if we ever do meet.

Choosing Medicine

I figured that I wanted to go to medical school during high school. At school, I was not sure that the school lessons were applicable to real life. I wanted to be able to apply what I studied to my career and being a medical doctor seemed a logical choice to a youngster. That was my first initiation into looking at medicine to serve and to contribute.

I graduated from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia USA in 1998.  I was 21 years old then. How this happened was due to pure luck and not from some elaborate planning of any sort. Being young and impressionable and full of confidence feels like being a young Simba in the savannah plains when reality one is Timon.

I found my Internal Medicine residency training at Eastern Virginia Medical School. It was here that I met and made many friends. I cherish the many interactions and connections with my teachers and colleagues. It was also here in Virginia Beach that I developed my love of fishing and the outdoors.

The World Changed while I was serving a Chief Resident

I was nominated by my peers to serve as Chief Resident of Internal Medicine at the Hampton VA teaching hospital. If you ask everyone where they were on September 11, they can accurately tell you. My story is that I was driving to the VA Hospital and just exited the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel when I heard on the news that a small plane collided into the World Trade Center in NYC. Moments later when the full information on what had happened filtered down, I had to help coordinate the military lockdown in the hospital and brief the EVMS medical team on what to expect. I could still recall seeing the Jets flying overhead and the Warships being deployed. At that time, I was not thinking too much other than to perform the task at hand and to coordinate the medical residents. There were no heroics on my part. Everyone was glued to the Television for any updates (you must understand that the iPhone wasn’t invented at that time). The rest is as you know, the world had changed.

Academic Career

After chief residency, I was appointed as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School. At that time, the field of hospitalist medicine was a developing concept. Internal Medicine specialists were very much needed to help coordinate the complicated care of very sick patients with multiple different specialists which were only focused on their niche areas. These hospitalists serve as the manager and director of a patient’s care for efficient and better outcomes. Think of Dr House minus all the glamour. And so, I started the academic hospitalist program at Norfolk General Hospital and slowly built it over the years by recruiting my fellow colleagues.

Choosing Further Specialization during the Great Financial Crisis

After the academic hospitalist program became a success, I knew I had to move on to my next career step. My colleagues were puzzled as to why I would give up what I had achieved to pursue something new. I had decided on Allergy and Immunology as a sub specialization as I loved the clinical and intellectual aspects of the field. I had to thank my colleagues for their support as they cheered me on.

Taking calls and carrying a full patient load as a hospitalist while applying to a competitive subspecialty has its unique set of challenges. However, I managed to land my fellowship training at Louisiana State University under the mentorship of Dr. Sami Bahna, an internationally recognized figure in food allergy and the president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. During this time, it was 2008, right smack in the middle of one of biggest financial crisis and I had to sell my house and downsize everything to fit into my car to drive all the way from Virginia to Louisiana. There in Shreveport Louisiana, I learned about the field of Allergy and Immunology and importantly also about the Bayou, Cajun food and how to do a proper crawfish boil.

Building a Clinical Practice

After completion of my fellowship training, I worked as an Allergist in Allergy & Asthma Care Centers in Northern Virginia. Thanks to the excellent training from my Professors at LSU, I was able develop a state-of-the-art allergen specific immunotherapy program for the practice. When the practice was established, it was also the time when I met my significant other and we decided to relocate to Malaysia due to family ties. It was also an opportunity for me to bring my Allergy Immunology services to another location in the world.

Qualifications attained

The following paragraph is to highlight my qualifications as a clinician. The information highlights the commitment and dedication towards obtaining the necessary knowledge and skills for patient care. Dr Kent Woo was inducted as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society for his excellence in medicine. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. He also holds a Diploma in Clinical Dermatology with Distinction awarded from Queen Mary University of London. He maintains an active academic participation in the field of Allergy and Immunology via lectures, public talks, and published papers in internationally renowned medical journals. He also served as the President of Malaysian Society of Allergy and Immunology from 2022 till 24 February 2024. During his tenure, he secured ongoing educational and research grants through MSAI that will further the field of Allergy and Immunology. Under his leadership, MSAI will host the APAAACI 2024 International Congress in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. This congress will foster sharing of knowledge and expertise of the international field leaders in Malaysia. 

Building a Team

Medical care never stops. And for me to be able to make a difference, I cannot do it alone. So, here in Kuala Lumpur, I set up The Allergy Immunology Clinic Team where we hope to bring the best possible care in Allergy and Immunology to our patients. 

We understand that Allergic and Immune diseases can severely affect quality of life. We also understand that there may be many conflicting information out there that is confusing. As a patient, you are assured of autonomy of your treatment, and we at The Allergy Immunology Clinic will do our best to explain the best treatment options available. We understand that sometimes, patients may disagree with our treatment plans, and we respect that and will work with our patients to seek the best alternative route that is preferred. Our pledge is to always prioritize our patients’ interests in the best professional way. 

Social Media Outreach

I have started to produce content in social media to engage the audience and in some small way deliver some helpful information. I am not expecting many followers as it is not meant to be entertaining, so don’t judge it by the amount of likes! But I do hope that it can be slightly engaging and informative at the least. If you are interested, do find me on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Youtube under DrKentWoo.

Congratulations for reading this far

Dear reader, if you have reached this final paragraph, I really congratulate you. I would not have thought that there would be any interest. I hope that you understand that my story that is presented here is just the front that is palatable for publication. Any appearance of success did not include the many failures and the other background stories that created the narrative.  Perhaps one day, I may write a book of my life’s stories.

I am including my CV for download here