From food allergies to rare inborn errors of immunity, the Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology is on the leading edge of treatment advances for some of the most common, as well as the most rare, diseases affecting children today.
The division’s current clinical research programs include large multi-center studies exploring therapies to help children who are dealing with common, yet severe, food allergies.
Immune system defects are extremely rare, but can be life threatening, and the small number of patients affected makes studying these diseases difficult. Therefore collaborations both within our hospital and throughout North America are essential in progressing the diagnosis and care of these patients. To that end, we are part of the Primary Immune Deficiency Treatment Consortium – one of only 42 centers in North America collaborating on National Institutes of Health-sponsored studies dedicated to improving outcomes of patients with rare disorders of immunity. In addition, our division participates in national registries to gather data about patients born with genetic errors in their immune systems, and we participate in large multi-center studies involving treatment of antibody deficiencies in children.
Within UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, we work with the Division of Pulmonary Medicine to advance asthma research that will ultimately support the patients served by our divisions. We also collaborate with the Division of General Academic Pediatrics on research aimed at tackling the large problem of antibiotic allergy in healthcare.
