In the News: Allergy and Immunology
May 14, 2009
Rothenberg, Hogan Awarded Grant for Food Allergy Research
The Division of Allergy and Immunology's Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD , director, and Simon P. Hogan, PhD, assistant professor, are two of six leading scientists across the country to share in a $1.1 million grant for food allergy research. The funding is provided by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) and represents the largest commitment since FAAN’s research grant program began in 2004. To date, more than $4.3 million has been awarded to scientists who are studying the areas of epidemiology, etiology, treatment and prevention of food allergy and anaphylaxis.
The six scientists are working on potential food allergy vaccines and therapies, painstakingly studying anaphylaxis to better understand it, and trying to solve the mysteries of food allergy development. Rothenberg’s project focuses on developing new diagnostic and treatment approaches to Eosinophilic Esophagitis, an emerging type of food allergy and disorder characterized by the infiltration of a large number of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in the esophagus. He hopes to uncover the molecular basis for EE.
Dr. Hogan is studying anaphylaxis by comparing the levels of IL-9, a factor in the body thought to be associated with anaphylaxis, in children who are at risk for this life-threatening reaction against children who are not at risk. This information could help in the diagnosis of food-triggered, life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Other projects include a study of the association between vitamin D and the development of food allergy among children; a study of the use of DNA vaccines to suppress the allergic response toward the major shrimp allergen in an effort to design therapeutic vaccines for food allergy and developing a new therapeutic approach to peanut allergy through a vaccine.
Each of the six projects is funded in the range of $50,000 to $150,000 per year, for up to two years.
