Lab News

Our laboratory has received support through a NIAID-DP2 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, part of the NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program. This award will support research investigating how the early-life gut microbiome influences food allergy development and resolution, with an emphasis on translational applications.

We acknowledge the support of NIH and NIAID, as well as collaborators who contributed to this work. In addition, we thank the Immune Tolerance Network for providing clinical samples central to this study. This funding will support efforts to address knowledge gaps in microbiome and food allergy research while contributing to the training of researchers in this area.

Dr. Özçam was recently featured in the Breaking Down Biology blog and podcast discussing research examining how the gut microbiome influences outcomes of peanut oral immunotherapy (POIT).

The interview highlights findings from the Immune Tolerance Network IMPACT clinical trial, which identified links between gut microbial metabolism, bile acid profiles, and treatment response. This feature provides an accessible overview of the study design, key findings, and clinical implications for microbiome-informed strategies to improve food allergy therapies.