Food Allergy Fund Launches NextGen Fellows Program to Strengthen the Physician-Scientist Pipeline and Accelerate Solutions for Patients
Philadelphia, PA (February 26, 2026) — Food allergy research is advancing faster than the pipeline of physician-scientists needed to translate discoveries into solutions for patients, putting progress at risk. To bridge both the funding and talent gaps, the Food Allergy Fund (FAF) today launched its NextGen Fellows Program, a national fellowship that provides early-career physician-scientists with the runway and mentorship needed to advance their work at a pivotal career stage.
Physician-scientists now represent only about 1.5% of U.S. physicians—a share that continues to decline, and national analyses show this group is aging and not being replenished at a sustainable rate. Early-career physicians are leaving research at a critical juncture, often between fellowship and independent funding, when traditional support mechanisms come too late. Recent data also indicate that physician-scientists represent a shrinking proportion of NIH-funded investigators, even as the overall physician workforce grows.
The NextGen Fellows Program provides early-career MD and MD-PhD researchers with one year of protected funding, dedicated time, and structured mentorship so that fellows can pursue patient impact through academic research, clinical translation, or entrepreneurial pathways. The fellowship is open to early-career MD and MD-PhD researchers committed to advancing research on food allergy and immune-mediated diseases at leading research centers nationwide. Each fellow will be awarded a $75,000 investment in protected research funding and time.
“As a food allergy patient, parent, and founder of FAF, it became clear that breakthroughs were stalling not for lack of ideas, but because early-career clinician-scientists lacked protected time and funding,” said Ilana Golant, CEO of FAF. “We cannot find cures for the 33 million Americans living with food allergies with only half the people we need at the bench and bedside. The NextGen Fellows Program ensures we have the talent to prevent, treat, and cure food allergies so my daughter’s generation can live and eat without fearing anaphylaxis.”
“I have great hope for the FAF NextGen Fellows Program," said Shari Redstone, philanthropist and media executive. "As someone with a multi-generational food allergy family, I’ve seen firsthand how families carry that burden every day. I'm excited about this program's potential to speed progress for people with this disease while also building the next generation of clinical scientists who will carry this work forward.”
“FAF’s NextGen Fellows Program is the kind of forward-looking investment the field urgently needs. Our field’s greatest breakthroughs have always depended on nurturing young investigators at exactly this stage,” said Dr. James R. Baker, Jr., director of the Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center; Ruth Dow Doan Professor of Biologic Nanotechnology; and Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan, and member of FAF’s Scientific Advisory Board.
“FAF’s NextGen Fellows program uniquely intervenes at the moment it matters most, offering critically needed support to generate the data that leads to sustainable funding. This increases the odds that promising ideas will advance, ultimately for the benefit of patients,” said Dr. Brian Vickery, chief of allergy and immunology and vice chair of clinical research at the Emory University School of Medicine and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
FAF launched its NextGen Fellows Program at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) meeting in Philadelphia, where it will also host a Research Exchange with more than 50 leading scientists and clinicians from around the world. To apply to the inaugural cohort, visit www.foodallergyfund.org/fellowships.
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About the Food Allergy Fund
The Food Allergy Fund (FAF) is the leading nonprofit dedicated to funding cutting-edge research to prevent, diagnose, and treat food allergies—a growing public health crisis affecting 10 percent of people in the United States and more than 300 million worldwide. Through competitive research grants and convening global thought leaders at its annual summits, FAF unites scientists, policymakers, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs to accelerate breakthroughs. FAF's mission is to create a future where no one has to suffer from food allergies. Learn more at www.foodallergyfund.org.
Media Contact: Amy DiElsi, Director of Communications, amy.dielsi@foodallergyfund.org