Research

OUTCOMES & IMPACTS

FOOD ALLERGY

OUTCOMES & IMPACTS

To improve the quality of life of Canadians affected by food allergies, AllerGen invested $8 million to establish a translational research program focused on understanding the causes, prevalence, treatment and consequences of food allergy and anaphylaxis.

The National Food Allergy Strategic Team (NFAST)—comprising clinical, natural and social scientists working in inter-institutional teams—enabled better clinical management strategies, created innovative educational tools, and advanced policy and public health measures addressing food allergy.

ASTHMA & ALLERGIES

OUTCOMES & IMPACTS

Throughout AllerGen’s 15 years as an NCE, its research teams have generated new knowledge, advanced drug development, and improved the diagnosis, management and treatment of those living and coping with asthma and allergies.

MICROBIOME

OUTCOMES & IMPACTS

AllerGen research, particularly studies from the CHILD Cohort Study, has provided insights into how the human microbiome—the universe of bacteria that live in and on our bodies—influences health and wellbeing, especially during childhood.

OBESITY

OUTCOMES & IMPACTS

AllerGen research, especially from the CHILD Cohort Study, has revealed how environmental, including dietary, factors influence the risk of children becoming overweight.

BREASTFEEDING

OUTCOMES & IMPACTS

AllerGen’s CHILD Cohort Study (CHILD), one of the Network’s enduring Legacy Initiatives, has enabled hundreds of exciting discoveries about the impact of early life factors – such as mode of delivery, antibiotics, air pollution, pets, household cleaning products, sleep, screen time, food and nutrition – on child health and wellbeing.

Beginning in 2017, CHILD began reporting on the role of infant feeding and breastmilk composition in the development and prevention of asthma, allergies, obesity and diabetes.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT & STRESS

OUTCOMES & IMPACTS

In the network’s earliest years, AllerGen research included a Mind-Body Interactions and Allergic Disease sub-program. Throughout AllerGen’s history, foci related to this thematic thread have persisted and evolved, generating numerous important findings.