Dr. Christopher Rigell joined the Department of Medicine on July 1, 2019 as an Instructor in the Division of Allergy and Immunology.
Dr. Rigell completed his undergraduate studies in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Vanderbilt University prior to obtaining his MD from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital where he served as a VA chief resident during his third year. After residency, he spent a year at the John Cochran VAMC as a hospitalist where he worked with trainees from Washington University and St. Louis University prior to completing a fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at Washington University. During fellowship he presented clinical cases of systemic mastocytosis and hereditary angioedema at national meetings and co-authored chapters on allergen immunotherapy and non–IgE-mediated food allergies.
Dr. Rigell’s clinical areas of interest include asthma, allergic rhinitis, drug allergies, urticaria and angioedema, and primary immunodeficiencies. He is especially interested in adult patients with common variable immunodeficiency and is investigating the role of genetic testing in improving care for these patients. He plans to pursue the Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation at Washington University. He also has an interest in clinical education and has been involved teaching second year medical students in the Practice of Medicine course. He will be the Associate Program Director for Allergy and Immunology where he will assist in the education of clinical fellows, residents, and medical students.