Food Allergy Program

The Food Allergy Program at Children’s National Hospital is recognized as a FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) Clinical Network Center of Excellence. The program provides care to children with food allergies at three clinical sites throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region. Six allergy faculty and three advanced practice providers deliver care to food allergy patients. In 2017, more than 1,100 new and more than 2,000 returning food-allergic patients were treated. Over 400 oral food challenges are performed annually.

Program faculty members are engaged in various research protocols related to food allergy. Adora Lin, MD, PhD, was recently awarded the prestigious American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Foundation Faculty Development Award. She is conducting translational research on the role of B cells and regulatory B cells on the development of food allergy, sensitization and tolerance.

Hemant Sharma, MD, MHS, is the PI of four clinical trials of peanut oral immunotherapy, Dr. Lin serves as co-investigator. Dr. Sharma is also studying racial differences in food allergy outcomes between African-American and Caucasian children as part of a multicenter study funded by an R01 at Northwestern University. In that study, outcomes including healthcare utilization, allergic reaction frequency, and stool and skin microbiome are being assessed by race in a cohort of 1,000 children with food allergy.