Allergy Research Program

The Division of Allergy and Immunology conducts research into asthma, food allergies (such as peanut or milk allergies), atopic dermatitis, and immune deficiencies to improve treatment options for children with these conditions.

One way to understand how to treat severe asthma is through precision medicine, an approach that targets treatments to subgroups of patients who share similar characteristics and that is used in the clinical study Precision Interventions for Severe and/or Exacerbation-Prone Asthma Network (PrecISE). The division is also one of seven centers in the newly formed CAUSE network, which will conduct observational studies and clinical trials to improve understanding of asthma and develop treatment and prevention approaches tailored to children of low-income families living in urban communities. As part of this network, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago will be spearheading an effort to evaluate whether a precision medicine approach can decrease wheezing in infancy, and decrease the development of asthmatic inflammation in the first year of life.

Food allergy research investigates how food allergies and tolerances to food allergies develop. The division has an active clinical trials program in food allergies, was a participant in studies leading to oral immunotherapy, and continues to be involved in cutting-edge food allergy clinical trials. Learn more about the Allergy Research Program.