Rebecca Gruchalla, M.D., Ph.D.
- Professor, Internal Medicine | Pediatrics
- Division Chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- William A. Sellars, M.D., and Joyce M. Sellars Distinguished Chair in Allergy and Immunology
“Women should make a special effort to support each other and those coming after us. Most importantly, we need to encourage girls and young women interested in STEMM to follow their passions.”
Early Influences
Dr. Gruchalla is a pediatric allergist and immunologist. Her interest in STEMM was initially piqued by her father and brother, both electrical engineers. “Many of our dinner table conversations while I was growing up were engineering or scientific in nature. While I had no desire to pursue engineering, I found that I loved my science courses,” Dr. Gruchalla said. “However, it wasn't until college that I found my true passion, which was immunology.”
As Dr. Gruchalla pursued her doctorate degree in immunology at UT Southwestern, she “was exposed to great mentors, both scientists and physicians. Being exposed to all these amazing people made me realize that I wanted to combine a scientific career with a career in medicine. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into medical school after I finished my Ph.D. program and, while the road was long, I have never regretted the extra years. I have a dream career!”
The UT Southwestern Difference
“This institution is a very special place,” Dr. Gruchalla said of UT Southwestern and the campus community. “My initial hope many years ago during medical school was to ultimately combine my two passions – medicine and science. That dream has been realized in large part due to UT Southwestern.”
Specifically, she credited the fact that she “had the great fortune of undergoing my medical school training during the years that Dr. Donald Seldin, one of the giants of medicine, was the Internal Medicine Chairman. As a teacher, Dr. Seldin was a true maestro in the way he taught clinical medicine,” she said.
View Academic Profile“While Dr. Seldin is no longer here, he lives on in each of us at UT Southwestern through our commitment to providing the highest-quality patient care and student and resident education, and to performing the most cutting-edge basic and clinical research.”