Behind the Scenes

In our Research Lab we can complete the full spectrum of food allergy research. Utilizing our vast database at the Southern California Food Allergy Institute, we have completed the largest almond prevalence study-to-date. We can characterize unknown allergens. We use serum samples to identify and characterize allergens using immunologic, biochemical, and structural characterization. We also are actively working to characterize new biomarkers that are indicative of successful completion of the Tolerance Induction Program™ (TIP) in an effort to fully elucidate the mechanisms at play that allow our patients to achieve Food Freedom!

With the emergence and rapid increase of the respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, it is important to understand how the body's immune system responds to the virus in order to advance research in therapeutics and vaccines for SARS-CoV-2. Children who have been infected appear to be mainly asymptomatic and, to help us better understand their immune response towards the virus, we have launched a study on the biological specimens of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected pediatric patients, which will include conducting serological assays to determine their antibody profiles.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is common among preterm neonates. Infants afflicted with BPD often suffer from respiratory and neurocognitive sequelae persisting short term or for years after the initial diagnosis. BPD is characterized by reduced alveolarization and vascularization in the lungs. Changes in the oxygen environment can lead to changes in normal lung development at the genetic, cellular, and structural levels.

We developed CPAP devices for a murine model to assess the impact of the commonly used non-invasive ventilation strategy to see how it impacts structural development in the lung. This will allow us to get a better understanding of the long-term impact of CPAP on BPD patients so that we can provide better care and have data-driven protocols in the near term and have insight into the contribution these interventions have on chronic disease in the patients later in life.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the most common recessively inherited disorders diagnosed in infancy and early childhood in the United States. Determining the phenotype of CF patients likely to experience a significant drop in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1%) predicted will help target efforts for mitigating this potentially deleterious disorder.

This study evaluated potential risk variables that account for the decline in FEV1% predicted in 81 CF patients treated at the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Miller Children's and Women's Hospital (MCWHLB) in Long Beach, CA. Our study provides a novel readily available score, which incorporates body mass index (BMI) and Staphylococcus aureus (SA) infection, both of which are alterable targets for slowing the progression of CF.