Allergic disorders include food allergy, asthma, eczema (atopic dermatitis) and allergic rhinitis. They have increased in prevalence in recent decades and now affect up to one in three adults and one in two children in economically developed countries.
A major aim of our research programme is to understand why so many children develop asthma and allergy, focusing on early life factors, both antenatal and postnatal. We are looking at both genetic and environmental factors. Our Group is also developing interventions to both prevent and treat asthma and allergic disease in childhood. We are working with a number of other groups within University of Southampton and with academic institutions across Europe and the US to deliver this programme. The two following projects contribute to this work.
Projects:
iFAAM Food Allergy Project - Birth Cohort (Graham Roberts, Kate Grimshaw and Erin Oliver) Funded by European Union’s FP7 programme, this large pan European project is funding the follow-up of the Europrevall birth cohort.
EuroPrevall Food Allergy Project - Birth Cohort (Graham Roberts, Kate Grimshaw and Erin Oliver) Funded by European Union’s FP6 programme and UK Food Standards Agency, this large pan European birth cohort has provided an exciting insight into the early origins of food allergy in childhood.
