A Path to a Cure for Food Allergies

This week, Governor Charlie Baker issued a proclamation declaring May 9th -15th, 2021 to be "Food Allergy Awareness Week" in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You can view FASI's press release and the proclamation at https://bit.ly/FASIFAAW

Massachusetts is recognized as a national leader in food allergy awareness, including educating both restaurant workers and consumers about food allergies. In fact in January of 2009, Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to require, by statute and regulation, menu labeling and food service worker training to raise awareness about food allergens.

Despite the increasing prevalence of food allergies, it is a field that we know remarkably little about. And the statistics are staggering. Approximately 32 million Americans have food allergies, including six million children. That's 1 in 13 children or two in every classroom. More than 40 percent of children with food allergies and more than half of adults with food allergy have experienced a severe allergic reaction such as anaphylaxis. Every three minutes, a food allergy sends someone to the emergency room.

Fortunately, good news is on the horizon! The Food Allergy Science Initiative (FASI) based out of Boston is a nonprofit network of over 100 scientists across 20 research laboratories working to find new treatments and ultimately a cure for food allergies. FASI was spun out of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard earlier this year as an independent nonprofit dedicated to discovering the root causes of food allergies through rigorous scientific research.

FASI has already reached an important milestone on the food allergy front. They have uncovered a major new theory and research direction -- the role of the nervous system in food allergies. FASI received a $15 million grant to support a three-year project "Untangling Neuroimmune Communications in Food Allergy." FASI believes that understanding this connection between the nervous system and immune system will unveil the true culprits of food allergies and help to develop effective treatments before the reactions even occur.

FASI’s scientific exploration is led by world-renowned immunobiologist, Ruslan Medzhitov, Ph.D., Sterling Professor of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His most recent contribution to food allergy research is a groundbreaking study recently published in Cell “Food Allergy as a Biological Food Quality Control System.”

FASI was cofounded by four Boston moms whose kids have food allergies, including FASI's CEO, Christine Olsen, MD, Karen Nanji, MD, MPH, Lesley Solomon, and Ellie Chu. I am thrilled to support this group of remarkable women and help raise awareness of FASI's important work, as another mom whose son has food allergies. Power to moms!

Philanthropic donations support FASI’s long-term goal of eradicating food allergies. In order to continue funding transformative food allergy research, FASI has set a goal of raising an additional $50 million over the next five years. For more information, visit www.foodallergyscience.org and follow FASI here on LinkedIn and on Twitter.

Please contact me directly if you would like to get involved with FASI, as a scientist and/or a financial supporter! [email protected]

Gratefully yours, Heidi Creighton