The William Davidson Foundation awarded a generous grant to the Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center in March 2015. Thanks to this grant, the Weiser Center was able to accomplish the goals established in its initial five-year plan and begin to build an internationally recognized food allergy research center.
These accomplishments include:
Recruiting Prominent Faculty
The Weiser Food Allergy Center welcomed three accomplished scientists to its team:
- Simon Hogan, Ph.D., Askwith Research Professor of Food Allergy
- Gary Huffnagle, Ph.D., Nina and Jerry D. Luptak Research Professor
- Chang Kim, Ph.D., Kenneth and Judy Betz Family Research Professor for Food Allergy Research
The center also hosted six nationally recognized faculty as presenters for its speaker series.
Developing Junior Faculty
Jessica O’Konek, Ph.D., gained national recognition for her work in food allergy vaccines and has been supported by grants from private foundations.
Catherine Ptaschinski, Ph.D., is examining innate immunity and the development of eosinophilic esophagitis, and has published a number of papers.
Developing a Successful Research Environment
The William Davidson Foundation was instrumental in building the center’s research infrastructure and laboratories, which are now known as the Davidson Family Food Allergy Laboratories.
The Weiser Center has successfully built an environment that fosters interaction of researchers within our team and beyond. The Davidson funds supported the center's Food Allergy Pilot Program, which engages research experts from related areas to begin applying their knowledge to food allergy.
The Weiser Center also hosts a monthly lab meeting and journal club series, both of which provide a forum for researchers to meet and collaborate.
Expanding Education & Training
The Weiser Center has recruited trainees for clinical and bench research and was able to fund these positions from the support provided by the William Davidson Foundation.
The training of the next generation of scientists and physicians ensures that research and clinical work will continue as we move into the next five years and beyond.