Food Allergy Science Initiative Inc

THE FOOD ALLERGY SCIENCE INITIATIVE ("FASI") WAS FOUNDED IN 2016 BY A GROUP OF PARENTS UNITED THROUGH A SHARED EXPERIENCE THAT NO PARENT SHOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH: WITNESSING THEIR CHILD EXPERIENCE A LIFE-THREATENING ALLERGIC REACTION. FRUSTRATED BY THE LACK OF OPTIONS TO TREAT FOOD ALLERGIES, THEY IDENTIFIED A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE: DESPITE MANY DECADES OF RESEARCH INTO THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND ADVANCES IN CLINICAL MEDICINE, SHOCKINGLY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGY BEHIND THE CAUSE AND PATHOLOGICAL DRIVERS OF FOOD ALLERGIES. IMPORTANTLY, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL FIRST BECOMES SENSITIZED TO AN ALLERGEN? WHY ARE CERTAIN FOODS MORE LIKELY TO BE ALLERGENIC? WHY DO SOME PEOPLE REACT MORE VIGOROUSLY TO ALLERGENS, OR NATURALLY OUTGROW SOME FOOD ALLERGIES, OR RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO TREAMENTS, WHILE OTHERS DO NOT? WHAT CHANGES MIGHT BE HAPPENING IN OUR ENVIRONMENTS AND OUR EXPOSURES THAT ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROLIFIC RISE IN FOOD ALLERGIES? BY RECOGNIZING THAT A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE MULTIPLE AND COMPLEX MECHANISMS UNDERLYING FOOD ALLERGY PATHOLOGY CANNOT BE ACHIEVED BY MYOPIC RESEARCH, THE FOUNDERS OF FASI WERE DRIVEN TO ORGANIZE A LANDMARK SYMPOSIUM IN 2015 THAT BROUGHT TOGETHER WORLD-CLASS EXPERTS FROM MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES OF SCIENCE TO DISCUSS HOW THEIR RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT ON THIS ENORMOUSLY COMPLEX PROBLEM AND HOW THEIR RESEARCH COULD SYNERGIZE TO MAKE INROADS IN DEVELOPING A MUCH NEEDED CURE. THUS, IN 2016 FASI WAS LAUNCHED WITH THE BROAD INSTITUTE OF MIT AND HARVARD (THE "BROAD"). WITH JUST SIX LABS AT INCEPTION, FASI HAS GROWN AND EVOLVED INTO AN INDEPENDENT 501(C)(3) MULTI-FACETED NON-PROFIT RESEARCH ORGANIZATION, AND AS OF JUNE 2024, OPERATES WITH MORE THAN 20 WORLD-CLASS LABS AND OVER 100+ SCIENTISTS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. THE FASI NETWORK BRINGS TOGETHER CLINICAL EXPERTS IN FOOD ALLERGIES, TYPE 2 INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS, CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES, AS WELL AS RESEARCH EXPERTS WITH DEEP EXPERTISE IN STUDYING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM, THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, AND THE GUT MICROBIOME, ALL OF WHICH INTERSECT AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF FOOD ALLERGIES. THOUGH A COLLABORATIVE OPERATING MODEL, FASI'S TEAM OF RESEARCHERS ARE LASER FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING THE ROOT CAUSES OF FOOD ALLERGIES, TRANSLATING THESE FINDINGS FROM LABS TO CLINICS, AND BEGINNING TO INTERVENE THROUGH THE GENERATION OF NOVEL THERAPEUTIC CANDIDATES TO ONE DAY DELIVER A CURE TO THOSE AFFECTED BY FOOD ALLERGIES. SOME OF OUR ACHIEVEMENTS: -FASI'S SCIENTIFIC FOUNDER, RUSLAN MEDZHITOV, HAS BEEN VISIONARY IN DEVELOPING A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF FOOD ALLERGY BY PROPOSING THAT THE ALLERGIC RESPONSE IS A HYPERACTIVE REACTION OF THE BODY'S FOOD QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEM - A PARADIGM SHIFT THAT HAS GUIDED FASI'S INTER-DISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH. -FASI IS CREATING A DETAILED UNBIASED CELLULAR ATLAS COMPARING GUTS FROM FOOD ALLERGIC AND NON-ALLERGIC PATIENTS. BY EXAMINING DIFFERENCES THAT UNDERLIE DISEASE-RELEVANT HUMAN TISSUES, THIS ATLAS WILL HELP US - AND THE WIDER SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE - IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE WHICH CELLS-TYPES ARE EXPANDED AND DYSREGULATED IN FOOD ALLERGY PATHOLOGY, AND TO IDENTIFY PATHWAYS OF THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION TO REVERSE PATHOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES. -FASI SCIENTISTS WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO IDENTIFY CRUCIAL LINKS BETWEEN THE GUT IMMUNE AND NERVOUS SYSTEMS BY IDENTIFYING SPECIFIC CELL-TYPES AND MOLECULAR MEDIATORS INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF ALLERGIC SENSITIZATION AND AUGMENTATION OF ALLERGIC IMMUNE RESPONSES. THESE CRITICAL INTERACTIONS SERVE AS DECISION CHECKPOINTS FOR HOW THE BODY DECIDES TO EITHER TRIGGER AN ALLERGIC REACTION OR MAINTAIN NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING. -FASI IS UNCOVERING PATHWAYS OF BI-DIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE GUT AND THE BRAIN. THE BRAIN PERFORMS THE CRITICAL FUNCTION OF SENSING INTERNAL CHANGES WITH THE BODY AND ORCHESTRATING SYSTEMIC PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES, INCLUDING MOBILIZING ENERGY RESERVES TO MEET METABOLIC DEMANDS, ACTIVATING IMMUNOLOGICAL RESOURCES TO DEFEND BARRIER SURFACES, MODIFYING BEHAVIORS AND FORMING MEMORIES FOR PRO-SURVIVAL ADAPTIVE PURPOSES. UNDERSTANDING THIS UNDEREXPLORED AREA PROMISES TO REVEAL NOVEL AVENUES FOR THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. -FASI RESEARCHERS ARE WORKING TO ELUCIDATE HOW ADJUVANTS - SUBSTANCES CAPABLE OF MAGNIFYING THE IMMUNE RESPONSE - ARE FOUND IN UNEXPECTED PLACES, INCLUDING THE FOODS WE CONSUME AND THE ENVIRONMENTS WE ARE EXPOSED TO, AND OUR RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THESE ADJUVANTS ARE CRITICAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALLERGIC DISEASES. THESE ADJUVANTS DERIVED FROM PLANTS, ANIMALS, OR STANDARD INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING PRACTICES, CAN BE FURTHER MODIFIED BY THE MICROBIOME IN OUR GUT, ARE SENSED BY SPECIALIZED CELLS THAT LINE THE GUT WALL, AND CAN SKEW THE IMMUNE RESPONSE TOWARD A HYPERALLERGIC STATE. -FASI SCIENTISTS ARE STUDYING FOOD ALLERGIC PATIENTS UNDERGOING INTERVENTIONAL TREATMENTS, SUCH AS ORAL IMMUNOTHERAPY (OIT), TO UNDERSTAND HOW IMMUNE RESPONSES ADAPT DURING THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. THROUGH DETAILED PROFILING OF INDIVIDUALS' IMMUNE RESPONSES, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED IMMUNOLOGICAL CHANGES THAT HELP EXPLAIN WHY OIT CAN INDUCE LONG-TERM DESENSITIZATION TO ALLERGENS, WHILE IS ONLY TRANSIENTLY PROTECTIVE IN OTHER INDIVIDUALS AFTER TREATMENT IS STOPPED. UNDERSTANDING THE IMMUNE MECHANISMS CONTRIBUTING TO THESE DIFFERING RESPONSES WILL GUIDE US TOWARD CRITICAL PATHWAYS LEADING TO LONG-TERM DESENSIZATION SUCCESS, AND ULTIMATELY A DISEASE-MODIFYING CURE. -FASI SCIENTISTS HAVE MADE BREAKTHOUGH CONNECTIONS IN UNDERSTANDING THE SKIN'S ROLE IN FOOD ALLERGIES, INCLUDING HOW THE SKIN CAN ACT AS A SITE OF INITIAL SENSITIZATION. FASI RESEARCHERS WERE THE FIRST TO IDENTIFY HOW SOME ALLERGENS ARE CAPABLE OF DIRECTLY ACTIVATING NERVES IN THE SKIN, WHICH CAN LEAD TO THE SENSATION OF ITCH, BUT ALSO THAT SKIN-INNERVATING NERVES CAN ACTIVATE IMMUNE CELLS AND DRIVE THEM TO INITIATE AN ALLERGIC RESPONSEY. THIS RESEARCH IS HELPING US UNDERSTAND HOW SKIN DISORDERS, SUCH AS ITCH AND ATOPIC DERMATITIS, ARE LINKED AND ARE OFTEN RISK FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOOD ALLERGIES. BLOCKING THIS PATHWAY COULD BE AN IMPORTANT THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY TO PREVENT THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOOD ALLERGIES IN HIGH-RISK INDIVIDUALS. -FASI INVESTIGATORS COMPLETED IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF ANTIBODY-PRODUCING PLASMA CELLS FROM HUMAN BONE MARROW OF PEANUT-ALLERGIC INDIVIDUALS AND FOUND SOME PLASMA CELLS PRODUCING PATHOLOGICAL IGE ANTIBODIES THAT BOUND PEANUT. THIS WORK IDENTIFIED BONE MARROW AS A CRITICAL TISSUE RESERVOIR FOR PATHOGENIC IGE-PRODUCING PLASMA CELLS. -FASI HAS ESTABLISHED A DRUG DEVELOPMENT TEAM WITH DECADES OF PHARMA/BIOTECH EXPERIENCE ADVANCING SMALL MOLECULES AND LARGE BIOLOGICS FROM EARLY TARGET IDENTIFICATION STAGES INTO THE CLINIC. THIS TEAM IS WORKING TO BUILD CRITICAL TOOLS AND PARTNERSHIPS TO ADVANCE EXCITING NOVEL THERAPEUTIC CANDIDATES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF FOOD ALLERGY TREATMENTS. -FASI'S INVESTIGATIONAL RESEARCH HAS LED TO 6 PATENTS, 100+ PUBLICATIONS AND OVER 6490+ CITATIONS IN THE MEDICAL LITERATURE. THROUGH FASI'S COLLABORATIVE, INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH APPROACH, FASI'S TEAM OF SCIENTISTS AND DRUG DEVELOPERS HAVE BUILT A DYNAMIC DRUG DISCOVERY ENGINE TO IDENTIFY INNOVATIVE THERAPUTIC INTERVENTIONS, AND ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERIES TO TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF PATIENTS LIVING WITH FOOD ALLERGIES.