Millions of Canadians suffer from allergic disease, such as rhinitis, asthma, food allergies and atopic dermatitis, to name a few, and many suffer from more than one allergic condition.

Over 3 million Canadians self-report food allergies, almost 500,000 of which are children under 18 years of age. Unlike other allergic conditions, there are no mitigating treatments for food allergy beyond the recommendation of strict allergen avoidance and the use of epinephrine when a severe allergic reaction occurs. In the United States, more than 200,000 persons require emergency treatment for allergic reactions to foods every year. Emergent management strategies for food allergy, like oral immunotherapy, remain limited by poor safety and only provide temporary protection in many patients, therefore, new therapeutic targets are required to impact patients with the disease.

The health and economic impact of allergic disease is staggering. For example, in the United States, the total economic costs of asthma and food allergies are estimated at 82 and 24 billion per year, respectively. There have been substantial advances in the treatment of some allergic diseases but cures for these diseases have remained elusive and, therefore, most allergic diseases are lifelong.

Dedicated collaborative efforts which utilize state-of-the-art technologies and follow the trajectory of allergic disease across the lifespan are required to make foundational improvements to the lives of allergic Canadians.

McMaster’s creation of evidence-based medicine revolutionized medical practice in the 1990s. In the years since, McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences has become a world leader in studies of human health across the lifespan and its research program in allergy and immunology is world-renowned.

McMaster has well-established leadership in food allergy research at the national and international level. The program, led by Drs. Susan Waserman and Manel Jordana, has made fundamental discoveries in food allergy over the last 15 years, which have advanced the global understanding of how food allergies, peanut allergy in particular, are initiated, maintained and managed. Their research is published in the top journals in the field, including the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Allergy and the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Headquartered at McMaster, the CHILD Cohort Study is a world-leading source of data on child health and wellbeing. This pan-Canadian longitudinal cohort study counts on the ongoing participation of almost 3500 families from a combination of urban and rural sites in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. Data collected on participants’ genetic makeup, home and external environmental exposures, diet, microbiome and health outcomes – more than 40 million data points and counting – are fuelling insights into food allergy risk factors and the developmental origins of allergic disease.

McMaster has the experts and the proven bench-to-bedside research methodology to generate impactful discoveries about the immune system and translate these discoveries into novel therapies for Canadians with allergies, easing the burden of allergy across Canada and beyond.