2024-2025 review

Patient Care HIGHLIGHTS

From simple to complex, our division is a leader in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic and immunologic conditions.

Expanding Food Allergy Care

We have established a robust oral immunotherapy program as part of our approach to food allergy management. Under the leadership of Georgiana Sanders, MD, MS, we have conducted multiple clinical trials focused on peanut allergies and recently expanded the program to include tree nut allergies. We are also evaluating our food allergy population and assessing food insecurity across our sites to increase nutrition and medical social work referrals.

Drug Allergy Clinics

The expansion of our faculty has allowed us to expand our drug allergy specialty clinics. Led by George Freigeh, MD, MA and Mariel Benjamin, MD, these clinics use a hybrid care model of virtual consultations and in-person diagnostic testing to assess patients for allergies in a broad range of medications, including antibiotics, to avoid drug avoidance and improve therapeutic choices.

research highlights

Mast Cell Disorders

Our division is one of the leading research and referral centers for mast cell disorders. Under the direction of Cem Akin, MD, PhD, our recent clinical trials have led to the approval of the first targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the KIT D816V mutation in the treatment of indolent systemic mastocytosis. Additional clinical trials are underway that are testing other inhibitors and a new bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Dr. Akin authored a review on the topic in Nature Disease Primers earlier this year.

Anaphylaxis and Immunotherapy

Our faculty completed a study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology reporting on allergy triggers and anaphylaxis in mastocytosis - the most comprehensive of its kind in the United States. Our division has also continued research on anaphylaxis with the goal of identifying risk factors, biomarkers, and etiology, and are in the process of completing a study on the utility of tryptase levels in predicting risk factors for local and systemic reactions to allergen immunotherapy and comprehensive IgE profiling, to environmental and self-allergens in patients with anaphylaxis.

Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center Research

The Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center (MHWFAC) was awarded a seven-year Consortium on Food Allergy Research Cooperative Agreement Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), establishing it as a center of excellence for food allergy research in the United States. “This award positions the University of Michigan and the MHWFAC as one of the sites where groundbreaking NIH-funded food allergy research will take place,” said James Baker, Jr., MD, MHWFAC Director and the principal investigator on the CoFAR award. The award was used to fund two projects, including one led by Chase Schuler IV, MD, which explores a new approach to clinical diagnosis of food allergies and one to analyze statistical data from tens of thousands of patients with atopic dermatitis that either have or lack food allergies. Dr. Schuler's innovative study examines the measurement of transepidermal water loss to predict systemic reactions in food challenges, skin barrier defects in the development of food allergies, and nerve-mast cell interactions. 

Transepidermal Water Loss in Children with Peanut Allergies

A research team made up of George Freigeh, MD, MA; Kelly O'Shea, MD; and Chase Schuler IV, MD, developed a novel device for transepidermal water loss (TEWL), which accurately measures water loss in skin during an allergic reaction. In their pilot study, published in JAMA Open Network, they found by using TEWL's reported measurements - when paired with another symptom of an allergic reaction - served as a stopping criterion during a live food allergy challenge to prevent the onset of a severe allergic reaction or anaphylaxis. The pilot focused on children five and under. By comparing TEWL measurements taken two minutes before and after peanut dosing, the team observed clear difference in skin water retention among patients who were beginning to develop an allergic reaction.

Education highlights

Our fellows have presented abstracts at national meetings for the Clinical Immunology Society, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, and American College of Asthma and Immunology.

Cem Akin, MD, PhD, was appointed chair of the Education Division on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, where he oversees the largest annual meeting in the allergy field, continuing medical education, and other educational initiatives. Second-year fellow, Melanie Donahue, MD, was awarded a T32 position in our immunology program and, under the mentorship of Chase Schuler IV, MD, presented her research on the role of focal adhesion kinase in mast cell activation in local and national meetings.