NIAID Backs Food Allergy Research

Under a program funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), 12 researchers received grants totaling $5 million over two years to lead studies of food allergy. The program, called Exploratory Investigations in Food Allergy, also received funding from two advocacy groups, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and The Food Allergy Project.

Projects will address key questions aimed at improving treatment and preventing food allergy, including studies to predict which food proteins are likely to cause allergic reactions; the factors that trigger severe responses; and the contribution of other immune disorders to food allergy. Other projects will help define the genetics of human food allergy, and the role of interactions between genes and the environment in food allergy pathogenesis.

"Little is known about why only some people develop food allergy, and finding answers to that fundamental question is one of the key objectives of this initiative," says Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director, NIAID, which is contributing $2 million toward the grants. "We anticipate that this program will spark new ideas and research in the field, and we look forward to seeing progress in research that ultimately ends the limitations that food allergy places on the lives of so many children and adults."

The formation of the Exploratory Investigations in Food Allergy addresses recommendations made by the National Institutes of Health Expert Panel on Food Allergy Research in March 2006.

Other resources:

When Protein is the Enemy

Dealing With Allergens: School Foodservice

Battling Allergen Contamination