All of these studies will continue under the new initiative. In addition, CoFAR will add a new clinical trial to treat peanut allergy, using peanut protein that will be applied on the skin. As part of the program expansion, there will be two new research sites looking for genes associated with food allergy and three consulting sites conducting studies to understand EoE.

"We are pleased to continue our support of CoFAR, NIAID's major program dedicated to exploring the causes of food allergy and developing new treatment and prevention strategies," says Daniel Rotrosen, M.D., director of the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation at NIAID. "By expanding CoFAR's research goals to include studies of the genetic components of food allergy, and broadening the research to include food allergy-associated diseases like EoE, we expect that its work will continue to increase our understanding of how food elicits an allergic reaction in certain people."

Two principal investigators will receive funding under the new CoFAR grant: Hugh Sampson, M.D., of Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City; and Xiaobin Wang, M.D., M.P.H., Sc.D., of Children's Memorial Research Center, Chicago.

The five original CoFAR clinical sites-located at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; National Jewish Health, Denver; and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock-will be led by Dr. Sampson and continue to receive support under the new grant. Joining this group will be the investigators conducting the EGID studies at Cincinnati Children's Medical Center Hospital, University of Colorado Denver and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Wang will lead the CoFAR genetics studies, which will include investigators at Boston University.

The EMMES Corp. in Rockville, Md., will be the statistical and clinical coordinating center for CoFAR. Donald Stablein, Ph.D., is the principal investigator.

NIAID Food Allergy Web portal: niaid.nih/topics/foodallergy/ 

Source: NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases