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Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Research

Dr. Chow posed with a white Allergy and Immunology machine

Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology faculty participates in clinical research and collaborates with basic scientists on campus. The Division is constantly expanding its pediatric research efforts in areas such as food allergies, drug allergies, and immunology.

UT Southwestern has a history of participation in groundbreaking research, led by Rebecca Gruchalla, M.D., Ph.D., whose involvement with the Inner-City Asthma Multicenter Study began in 1996. This collaborative group, which became the Inner-City Asthma Consortium (ICAC), received NIH funding for over two decades, contributing to clinical and mechanistic understanding of pediatric asthma in inner-city patients.

Drug Allergies

Timothy Chow, M.D., is conducting various research projects focused on pediatric drug allergy, including:

  • Improving drug allergy testing
  • Assessing tools to increase access to drug allergy evaluations
  • Exploring the mechanisms of pediatric non-IgE-mediated immediate hypersensitivity reactions
  • Initiating the first national pediatric drug allergy research network through the United States Drug Allergy Registry Pediatrics initiative to further characterize pediatric adverse reactions to drugs

Food Allergies

Drew Bird, M.D., and Malika Gupta, M.D., lead an active and expanding research program focused on novel interventional therapeutics for life-threatening food allergies and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE).

Since 2010, the Food Allergy Center at Children’s Health and UT Southwestern has conducted more than 25 clinical research trials supported by private foundations, industry partnerships, and competitive grants. The Center has participated in NIH-funded national consortium studies as well as multicenter industry-sponsored trials, contributing directly to the two FDA-approved therapies for food allergies and the first FDA-approved therapy for EoE.

Ongoing research includes:

  • Investigations of biologics
  • Epicutaneous and sublingual immunotherapy approaches
  • Microbiome and immune profiling studies
  • Long-term safety and effectiveness trials for food allergy and EoE

The Center also leads national collaborative initiatives, such as the Food Allergy Collaborative of Texas and Arkansas and the Southwest FPIES Consortium, which now represents the world’s largest FPIES registry. In partnership with Jeffrey SoRelle, M.D., the Center integrates genetics, diagnostics, and biomarker discovery into its translational research portfolio, positioning the program as a national leader in advancing food allergy prevention, diagnostics, therapeutics, and quality of life for patients and families.

Immunology

Chris Wysocki, M.D., Ph.D., collaborates with Nicolai Van Oers, Ph.D., in the basic immunology department on projects related to novel gene discovery in primary immunologic disorders and on various aspects of DiGeorge/22q11.2 deletion syndrome. In collaboration with Victor Aquino, M.D., from the stem cell transplant team, the program is involved in clinical research through the Primary Immunodeficiency Treatment Consortium (PIDTC).

Dr. Wysocki also participates in research projects focusing on multidisciplinary pediatric intestinal immunology.

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