Advocacy & Awareness for Immune Disorders Association (AAIDA)

Executive Leadership Team

Executive Director

Lauren Dunlap, PACS

Executive Director, Co-Founder

Lauren has more than 13 years of experience educating and advocating for patients with various immune disorders and overlapping conditions. Lauren has been a go-to resource for healthcare providers for many years by offering valuable insights and education regarding barriers to patient care, treatment and outcomes.

As an individual affected by Primary Immunodeficiency (PI), which are due to genetic defects in the immune system that an individual is born with, Lauren spends much of her time advocating for patients. Lauren attends various Advocacy Days on Capitol Hill throughout the year to help educate lawmakers about healthcare policies that affect the patient communities AAIDA serves.

To expand her advocacy efforts, Lauren became a board-certified Prior Authorization Certified Specialist (PACS) with the Accreditation Council of Medical Affairs in 2020. She felt this was vital to help patients better understand and navigate the prior authorization process, which is often required by insurance companies for medications and procedures.

A native of York, S.C, Lauren received her Bachelors of Arts Degree from Belmont Abbey College and currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lauren enjoys whitewater rafting, traveling, spending time with family and friends and studying different cultures.

Executive Director

Jennifer Caicedo, MD

Executive Medical Director

Jennifer Caicedo, MD, FACAAI, FAAP, is a practicing allergist/immunologist in Charlotte, N.C, at Carolina Asthma & Allergy Center. Dr. Caicedo is a Fellow of both the American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Dr. Caicedo is Past President of the Charlotte Pediatric Society, where she still serves on the organization’s Board. She is also a Past President of the North Carolina Allergy Asthma & Immunology Society.

Dr. Caicedo has been involved in multiple clinical research studies in food allergy, atopic dermatitis, eosinophilic esophagitis, and asthma as well as multiple national quality improvement studies.  Dr. Caicedo believes strongly in advocacy and has been actively involved in both her local and national medical communities. Dr. Caciedo was proud to assist in the efforts to obtain funding for one registered nurse for every local public Charlotte Mecklenburg School (CMS) as well as implementing stock epinephrine throughout CMS.

Dr. Caicedo has been married to her husband, Rick for 19 years. They have two children, ages 10 and 13. Dr. Caicedo believes in the philosophy of challenging herself everyday. In her free time, Dr. Caicedo enjoys photography, hiking and the outdoors as well as reading and fitness.