Ilana Golant Ilana Golant

Signature Research Evening

We are excited to invite you to a special evening supporting food allergy research where you will have the exclusive opportunity to meet researchers from around the world! 

Register for the Food Allergy Fund’s Signature Research Evening on April 29, 2025—the eve of our annual Food Allergy Fund Summit.

We are excited to invite you to a special evening supporting food allergy research where you will have the exclusive opportunity to meet researchers from around the world! 

Register for the Food Allergy Fund’s Signature Research Evening on April 29, 2025—the eve of our annual Food Allergy Fund Summit.

Join us for an intimate evening dedicated to exploring groundbreaking innovations in technology aimed at preventing, treating, and curing food allergies. This event will bring together leading experts, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists for meaningful discussions and to support vital research in the fight against food allergies. Guests will have the opportunity to learn about the work of our participants directly after hear the latest updates from our exclusive Research Retreat and meet the researchers involved. 

###

The Food Allergy Fund is the leading nonprofit dedicated to funding food allergy research. FAF aims to identify underlying causes, discover new therapeutics, and improve the lives of all people living with food allergies. Through our ground-breaking research and unique thought leadership summits, we accelerate innovation to find solutions. To learn more, visit www.foodallergyfund.org.

Read More
Ilana Golant Ilana Golant

Join the FAF Visionaries Circle

Be part of the new FAF Visionaries Circle! This exclusive giving group empowers and connects individuals and families impacted by food allergies.

Join us for our kick-off virtual event with Dr. Stephanie Eisenbarth on Monday, December 9, at 1 p.m. EST to learn more about the membership benefits.

Visionaries Circle

Join the new FAF Visionaries Circle! This exclusive giving group empowers and connects individuals and families impacted by food allergies.

As a member of the Visionaries Circle, you’ll have the unique opportunity to:

  • Learn directly from leading doctors, scientists, and innovators in the field

  • Participate in exclusive events and programming in cities nationwide

  • Enjoy special access to our signature events, including the Food Allergy Fund Summit

VIRTUAL EVENT DETAILS

If you are interested in joining the Visionaries Circle, please rsvp below for our kick-off Zoom with Dr. Stephanie Eisenbarth on Monday, December 9, at 1 p.m. EST to learn more about the membership benefits.

One of the most rewarding aspects of building FAF has been the connections we’ve made with food allergy families, advocates, scientists, and leaders. While living with food allergies can often feel isolating and overwhelming—especially during the holidays—we’re constantly inspired by the sense of community we’ve created. There is hope for the future when we share our experiences and ideas and drive forward new research and innovations. We look forward to connecting with you in our Visionaries Circle.

###

The Food Allergy Fund is the leading nonprofit dedicated to funding food allergy research. FAF aims to identify underlying causes, discover new therapeutics, and improve the lives of all people living with food allergies. Through our ground-breaking research and unique thought leadership summits, we accelerate innovation to find solutions. To learn more, visit www.foodallergyfund.org.

Read More
Ilana Golant Ilana Golant

SAVE THE DATE: Food Allergy Fund Summit, April 30, 2025

July 3, 2024 The Food Allergy Fund is bringing back their successful #thisisnuts challenge on July 4th to raise awareness about food allergies and the need for research. Share your upside-down photos and videos to help us turn allergies upside down!


Save the date, April 30th, 2025 for our marquee annual Summit in New York City. Join us for an in-person experience, highlighting the latest advancements and
cutting-edge developments in food allergy research and innovation in 2025. 

You don't want to miss our signature event! Details and registration to follow soon.

 
Read More
Ilana Golant Ilana Golant

Food Allergy Fund Launches Exclusive Research Roadmap to Accelerate Food Allergy Prevention and a Cure

New York, NY (May 31, 2024) – The Food Allergy Fund (FAF), the leading nonprofit that funds food allergy research, has marked a significant milestone in the field: A first-ever Food Allergy Research Roadmap, a comprehensive guide designed to accelerate medical discovery and development progress within the next five years.

New York, NY (May 31, 2024) – The Food Allergy Fund (FAF), the leading nonprofit that funds food allergy research, has marked a significant milestone in the field: A first-ever Food Allergy Research Roadmap, a comprehensive guide designed to accelerate medical discovery and development progress within the next five years. FAF has brought together an exclusive working group of renowned scientists and allergists to identify the root causes of food allergies and focus on cutting-edge approaches to prevent, treat, and cure the disease. In addition, FAF’s Scientific Advisory Board is an unparalleled group of doctors and scientists from leading research institutions across the country. 

While current food allergy research primarily targets disease symptoms and single-food immunotherapy treatments, FAF's Research Roadmap adopts a transformative approach. It prioritizes prevention and cures for multiple food allergies and allergic diseases, developing disease-modifying therapeutics, and catalyzing multiple proof-of-concept clinical trials. The FAF Research Roadmap will serve as a scientific business plan for scientists and funders.  

Over the next five years, FAF will focus on eliminating anaphylactic reactions, inducing and maintaining immune tolerance to foods, and preventing food allergy in the next child or adult. 

FAF's vision includes:

  • Forging partnerships between academia and industry

  • Utilizing AI-driven platforms

  • Recruiting new talent and medical disciplines

  • Hosting curated research retreats

  • Repurposing therapeutics

  • Creating a venture philanthropy platform to address the funding gap

Today, food allergies are a growing concern and a pressing public health issue. The incidence and severity are rising, with 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 13 children affected. More than forty percent of people with food allergies are allergic to multiple foods, and every three minutes, a person visits the emergency room due to an allergic reaction.

"The food allergy community has never had a real-time tool like this roadmap, and it is an essential next step in hastening our progress to find a cure for the disease," said Ilana Golant, founder and CEO of the Food Allergy Fund. "To end food allergies, we have assembled the brightest minds in America to help us map our goals, pool resources, and collaborate across disciplines, proactively changing the research culture."

The ground-breaking Research Roadmap was unveiled at the 9th Food Allergy Fund Summit, which brings together leading experts and advocates. The marquee summit, held at the Paley Center for Media in New York during Food Allergy Awareness Month in May, serves as a platform for sharing knowledge, fostering collaboration, and driving innovation in food allergy research.

Research Roadmap Working Group

  • Dr. Richard Insel, Research Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry

  • Stephanie Eisenbarth, MD, PhD, Director, Center for Human Immunobiology; Chief of Allergy and Immunology in the Department of Medicine; Roy and Elaine Patterson Professor of Medicine; Professor of Medicine (Allergy and Immunology) and Pathology, Northwestern University 

  • Dr. Rima Rachid, Director of Allergen Immunotherapy, Allergy and Asthma Program; Co-Director, Food Allergy Program, Boston Children’s Hospital; Attending Physician, Division of Immunology; Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

  • Dr. Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD, Director, Division of Allergy and Immunology; Director, Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

Scientific Advisory Board

  • Martin J. Blaser, M.D., Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome; Professor, Department of Medicine and Microbiology; Director, Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine RBHS, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

  • Scott Boyd, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Boyd Lab for Human Immunology Member; Child Health Research Institute Member;  Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research; Associate Professor of Pathology Stanford University School of Medicine

  • Linda Herbert, Ph.D., Director, Psychosocial Clinical Program, Division of Allergy & Immunology; Assistant Professor, Division of Psychology & Behavioral Health Children's National Health System

  • Wayne I. Lencer, M.D., Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital; Director, Harvard Digestive Diseases Center; Longwood Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

  • J. Christopher Love, Ph.D., Professor of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Associate Member, Broad Institute; Associate Member, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard

  • Rachel L. Miller, M.D., Merksamer Professor in Immunology; Chief, Division of Clinical Immunology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  • Kari Nadeau, M.D., Ph.D., Chair, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

  • Noah Wolcott Palm, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine

  • Hugh A. Sampson, M.D., Kurt Hirschhorn Professor of Pediatrics; Director Emeritus, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute; Past President, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  • Wayne G. Shreffler, M.D., Ph.D., Chief, Pediatric Allergy & Immunology; Director, Food Allergy Center, Massachusetts General Hospital; Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

  • Scott H. Sicherer, M.D., Director, Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Food Allergy Institute; Chief, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  • Marsha Wills-Karp, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR) National Institutes of Health (NIH); Chair, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

  • Gary D. Wu, M.D., Director, Molecular Biology Core; Associate Chief for Research, Division of Gastroenterology; Associate Director, Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Disease; Ferdinand G. Weisbrod Professor in Gastroenterology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

###

Media Contact: Amy DiElsi, adielsi02@gmail.com, 215-990-3006

The Food Allergy Fund is the leading nonprofit dedicated to funding food allergy research.  FAF's grants support the creation of new treatments that will address the root causes of food allergies. Through our groundbreaking research and unique thought leadership summits, we accelerate innovation to find solutions. To learn more, visit www.foodallergyfund.org.


Read More
Ilana Golant Ilana Golant

Food Allergy Fund Announces $500k Drug Repurposing Challenge

Nov 30, 2023 The Food Allergy Fund, a non-profit committed to bridging the funding gap for scientific research into food allergies, announced today it is accepting proposals for its Repurposing Innovators Research Grant. The grant(s) will be awarded to the researcher or team of researchers who demonstrates the most innovative approach to repurposing an existing FDA-approved drug for prevention of onset of food allergies, prevention or treatment of food anaphylaxis, or an improved therapeutic for maintaining food allergic tolerance in previously allergic patients.

Nov 30, 2023 The Food Allergy Fund, a non-profit committed to bridging the funding gap for scientific research into food allergies, announced today it is accepting proposals for its Repurposing Innovators Research Grant. The grant(s) will be awarded to the researcher or team of researchers who demonstrates the most innovative approach to repurposing an existing FDA-approved drug for prevention of onset of food allergies, prevention or treatment of food anaphylaxis, or an improved therapeutic for maintaining food allergic tolerance in previously allergic patients.

Food Allergies are an emerging public health crisis that affect 1 in 13 children and 1 in 10 adults in the United States alone That's two children per classroom – a 50% increase from 1997 to 2011. Every three minutes, a person visits the emergency room due to an allergic reaction.

“The rising number of people living with food allergies is unacceptable and I am committed to supporting new research to turn the numbers upside down,” said Golant. “I have assembled an impressive Scientific Advisory Board to screen and select grant recipients to fund ground-breaking ideas into the underlying causes and improved treatments for all food allergies.”

The Food Allergy Fund’s Scientific Advisory Board includes immunologists, clinicians, microbiologists, gastroenterologists, and chemical engineers from institutions such as Columbia, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Mount Sinai, NYU Langone, Stanford, and Yale and brings a comprehensive perspective on the research. The full list of Board members can be found at https://foodallergyfund.org/scientific-advisory-board.

To submit a research proposal for the innovators grant, please submit a two-page letter of intent with a copy of your CV to research@foodallergyfund.org.

Please note the following:

  • Proposals will be reviewed by the SAB and scored on the NIH scoring scale (1-9). Innovation and collaboration (across disciplines and/or institutions) will be prioritized in the scoring process.

  • The top scoring candidates based on the letter of intent and CV will be notified and requested to submit more detailed proposals.

  • Grant recipient(s) indirect costs are capped at 10%.

  • Grants will start at $100k per project, but may range in size depending on the scope of the project.  A total of $500k in funding is available for this challenge.

  • All 2024 grant applicants must be willing to create a short video (10-15 minutes) presentation that will be pre-recorded by the Food Allergy Fund. The video should be a vibrant description of your proposal and will be shown at the FAF Summit in Spring 2024. Not all applicants will be selected for this opportunity.

###

The Food Allergy Fund is the leading nonprofit dedicated to funding food allergy research. FAF aims to identify underlying causes, discover new therapeutics, and improve the lives of all people living with food allergies. Through our ground-breaking research and unique thought leadership summits, we accelerate innovation to find solutions. To learn more, visit www.foodallergyfund.org.

Read More
Ilana Golant Ilana Golant

Food Allergy Fund Announces $500,000 Microbiome Challenge

New York, NY (April 5, 2022) — The Food Allergy Fund, a non-profit committed to bridging the funding gap for scientific research into food allergies, announced today it is accepting proposals for its first Microbiome Challenge. The grant(s) will be awarded to the researcher or team of researchers with the most evidence based and innovative approach to mitigating the causes and symptoms of food allergies via the skin and gut microbiome. The grant(s) will be awarded up to $500,000.

Calls for Proposals Inspiring the Most Innovative Ideas for Skin and Gut Microbiome Approaches To Food Allergy

New York, NY (April 5, 2022) — The Food Allergy Fund, a non-profit committed to bridging the funding gap for scientific research into food allergies, announced today it is accepting proposals for its first Microbiome Challenge. The grant(s) will be awarded to the researcher or team of researchers with the most evidence based and innovative approach to mitigating the causes and symptoms of food allergies via the skin and gut microbiome. The grant(s) will be awarded up to $500,000.

Food Allergies are an emerging public health crisis. Six million children—out of 32 million Americans overall—are affected by food allergies. That's two children per classroom – a 50% increase from 1997 to 2011. Every three minutes, a person visits the emergency room due to an allergic reaction.

Yet research on causes and treatment is severely underfunded. Which is why Ilana Golant created the Food Allergy Fund: FAF’s mission is to raise awareness and money for scientific research. This mission is personal as Ilana is a mother to a child with food allergies.

“The rising number of people living with food allergies is grave and dangerous and I am committed to supporting new research to turn the numbers upside down,” said Golant. “I’ve assembled an impressive Scientific Advisory Board to screen and select grant recipients to fund ground-breaking ideas into the underlying causes and improved treatments for all food allergies.”

The Food Allergy Fund’s Scientific Advisory Board includes immunologists, clinicians, microbiologists, gastroenterologists, and chemical engineers from institutions such as Columbia, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Mount Sinai, NYU Langone, Stanford, and Yale and brings a comprehensive perspective on the research. The full list of Board members can be found below and at https://foodallergyfund.org/scientific-advisory-board/.

To submit a research proposal for the Microbiome Challenge, please submit a two-page letter of intent with a copy of your CV to research@foodallergyfund.org by May 5, 2022.

Please note the following:

  • Proposals will be reviewed by the SAB and scored on the NIH scoring scale (1-9). Innovation and collaboration (across disciplines and/or institutions) will be prioritized in the scoring process.

  • The top scoring candidates based on the letter of intent and CV will be notified and requested to submit more detailed proposals.

  • Grant recipient(s) indirect costs are capped at 10%.

  • All 2022 grant applicants must be willing to create a short video (10-15 minutes) presentation that will be pre-recorded by the Food Allergy Fund. The video should be a vibrant description of your proposal and may be shown at the FAF Summit in December 2022. Not all applicants will be selected for this opportunity.

  • Please note that funding for this Challenge will in part be provided by Janssen Biotech, Inc. As such, FAF reserves the right to share proposals with relevant third parties.

Media contact: press@foodallergyfund.org

###

The Food Allergy Fund is the leading nonprofit dedicated to funding food allergy research. FAF aims to identify underlying causes, discover new therapeutics, and improve the lives of all people living with food allergies. Through our ground-breaking research and unique thought leadership summits, we accelerate innovation to find solutions. To learn more, visit www.foodallergyfund.org.

The Scientific Advisory Board

Martin J. Blaser, M.D.

Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome

Professor, Department of Medicine and Microbiology

Director, Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine

RBHS, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Scott Boyd, M.D., Ph.D.

Director, Boyd Lab for Human Immunology

Member, Child Health Research Institute

Member, Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research

Associate Professor of Pathology

Stanford University School of Medicine

Stephanie Eisenbarth, M.D., Ph.D.

Chief, Division of Allergy and Immunology

Director, Center for Human Immunobiology

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Linda Herbert, Ph.D.

Director, Psychosocial Clinical Program, Division of Allergy &

Immunology Assistant Professor, Division of Psychology & Behavioral

Health Children's National Health System

Wayne I. Lencer, M.D.

Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Boston Children's Hospital

Director, Harvard Digestive Diseases Center

J. Christopher Love, Ph.D.

Professor of Chemical Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Associate Member, Broad Institute

Associate Member, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard

Rachel L. Miller, M.D.

Chief of the Division of Clinical Immunology

Merksamer Professor in Immunology

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Kari Nadeau, M.D., Ph.D.

Director, Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research

Naddisy Foundation Endowed Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics

Stanford University School of Medicine

Noah Wolcott Palm, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Immunobiology

Yale University School of Medicine

Hugh A. Sampson, M.D.

Kurt Hirschhorn Professor of Pediatrics

Director Emeritus, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute

Past President, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Wayne G. Shreffler, M.D., Ph.D.

Chief, Pediatric Allergy & Immunology

Director, Food Allergy Center

Massachusetts General Hospital

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Scott H. Sicherer, M.D.

Director, Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Food Allergy Institute

Chief, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Marsha Wills-Karp, Ph.D.

Co-Chair, Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Chair, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Gary D. Wu, M.D.

Director, Molecular Biology Core

Associate Chief for Research, Division of Gastroenterology

Associate Director, Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Disease

Ferdinand G. Weisbrod Professor in Gastroenterology

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Read More