How do you keep nearly 3,500 Canadian families involved in a research study they signed up for over a decade ago?

Especially when the study requires dozens of clinical assessments, hundreds of questionnaires and thousands of data collection points about the children’s biology, health and lifestyle as they grow?

It takes rapport, respect and a strong connection with kids and parents – a feat the CHILD Cohort Study has largely achieved, given its 91% participant retention rate after the five-year clinical visits were complete.

“We have expanded and refined our retention strategies over the years,” says Linda Warner, a nurse and the Clinical Research Coordinator for CHILD’s Vancouver site – home to 783 of the families.

CHILD Vancouver’s Clinical Research Coordinator, Linda Warner, with “junior scientists” from the four CHILD study sites

“In 2013, we used paper surveys and one-on-one discussions during a clinical visit to collect feedback from parents; in 2018-19, families are engaged through newsletters, videos, our website, online surveys, Town Hall meetings, focus groups, and as part of a national Knowledge Mobilization Stakeholder Advisory Committee.”

“We find that the more times we can connect with our participating families, the stronger their commitment is to come back for the next visit,” adds Dr. Padmaja Subbarao, Director of the CHILD Cohort Study.

“We aim to create a feeling of empowerment, where participants have a ‘voice’ by contributing to research decision-making and helping us to share the findings from the CHILD Cohort Study with others.”

Study children are now old enough to help inform and promote the study themselves. At AllerGen’s 2019 Research Conference, held in January 2019 in Toronto, four children—one from each of the study sites—were involved in a day-long program featuring CHILD Cohort Study results.

The kids and their parents were part of a panel where they spoke to researchers, clinicians and community groups about their involvement in the Study; about what participating has entailed for them and how the process might be improved; about their motivations for continuing in the Study for years to come; and about how their engagement has informed their perspectives on science.

“The best part about being in the CHILD Cohort Study is helping other kids,” said Sara Celemin, an eight-year old from Edmonton. “My little brother has asthma and this study will help kids like him.”

“My mom joined the study before I was born, so I’ve been in it for 11 years,” noted the Winnipeg site’s Lily Hoffman. “I might stay involved in CHILD until I’m a mom myself.”

Nine-year-old Vancouver study participants Sam Rose and Hazel Bartlett created a video to explain what kids in the study can expect during their clinical visits at eight years of age.

Sam and Hazel's video

“We think our video will help kids to understand why the researchers need our poop (yuk!), pee and blood samples – it’s all for science and to help other kids grow up healthy!”

In 2019, the study is launching regional and national Parent and Child Advisory Councils to formalize a mechanism for participants to collaborate with each other and the CHILD research teams.

“We think the Advisory Councils, which will be chaired and run by participants themselves, will be a valuable opportunity for knowledge sharing and for our dedicated families to contribute their ideas and priorities to all aspects of our work,” says Warner.

AllerGen is pleased to present its 2018-2019 Annual Report, which highlights examples of the Network’s accomplishments and impacts during its final year as a national Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE).

Since 2005, AllerGen’s multisectoral, multidisciplinary research teams have generated new knowledge, advanced drug development, laid the groundwork for significant future discoveries, forged a strong national community in allergy and asthma, and provided research, clinical and professional development training opportunities that have nurtured a new generation of leaders in related fields.

Many milestones have been realized over the past year. 2018-2019’s accomplishments include:

• new discoveries from the CHILD Cohort Study on sleep, screentime, and the use of household cleaners that help parents, clinicians and communities make more informed choices during pregnancy and the early years of a child's life;
• commencement of the 8-year-old clinical visits at all CHILD Cohort Study sites with 1,000 participant assessments completed to date;
• over 6,000 Network publications since 2005, including over 90 scientific papers from CHILD Cohort Study teams;
• ongoing delivery of unique, multi-institutional Phase II clinical trials by AllerGen’s Clinical Investigator Collaborative (CIC), which has attracted over $28M in revenue to Canada and undertaken 29 clinical trials since 2005;
• new National Food Allergy Strategic Team (NFAST) results elucidating how the immune system 'remembers' food allergens, and the launch of a free mobile app to improve the knowledge and coping skills of youth living with food allergies;
• findings from the Gene-Environment Interactions Enabling Platform on the impact of filtered diesel exhaust on the lung function of allergic individuals;
• research results from the Biomarkers and Bioinformatics Enabling Platform that have facilitated the development of new approaches to allergy and asthma diagnosis and care;
• the delivery of AllerGen’s 12^th Trainee Symposium, which achieved the highest attendance by Network trainees in the history of the event; and
• the launch and awarding of AllerGen’s Michelle Harkness Mentorship Awards, recognizing exemplary mentorship and a commitment to developing mentorship skills in memory of AllerGen’s HQP and Events Coordinator.

Though 2018-2019 was its final year as an NCE, AllerGen leaves a lasting legacy for Canada and will maintain the momentum of the NCE program’s investment for years to come.

On April 1, 2019, the Network launched its two-year NCE wind-down process to facilitate the commercialization, knowledge mobilization and continuation of its business-related operations supporting the Network’s three high-impact Legacy Initiatives: the CHILD Cohort Study, the CIC, and the NFAST.

In recommending the awarding of wind-down funds to AllerGen, NCE reviewers observed:

“By all metrics… the network has been extremely successful… AllerGen is a truly multidisciplinary network… [and] is a well-known international entity, which is viewed as a strong success story that will long outlive NCE funding.”

This “success story” was showcased during the Network’s 9^th and final Research Conference held in January 2019, in Toronto, Ontario. Over 220 delegates, including CIHR and NCE dignitaries, world-leading keynote speakers and scientists, patients and partners, gathered to celebrate AllerGen’s legacy of discovery and innovation since 2005.

We invite you to learn more about AllerGen’s exciting research results, and knowledge mobilization and commercialization initiatives in this, its final Annual Report.

In closing, we extend our sincere appreciation to AllerGen’s investigators, trainees, partners, Board of Directors, Research Management Committee (RMC), Advisory Committee members, and the Network’s leadership and administrative team.

This year’s accomplishments, and those of the past 14 years, are a testament to their ongoing commitment and contributions to the successful fulfillment of our NCE mandate and mission.

We also thank the NCE Secretariat and AllerGen’s host institution, McMaster University, for their continued championing of AllerGen’s vision, mission and goals during its wind-down period from 2019 to 2021.

Killing germs around the house may have an impact on young childrens’ waistlines. What’s the connection? The infant gut microbiome, according to a study led by AllerGen investigator Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta.

Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj’s team showed that the frequent use of household disinfectants—primarily multi-surface cleaners—may increase the risk of obesity in young children by altering the microbes in their gut.

The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ)  in September 2018, was the journal’s top paper that year for media coverage and was listed by CMAJ  among its “Top 25 articles of 2018.”

“We found that infants living in households where disinfectants were used at least weekly were twice as likely to have higher levels of the bacteria called Lachnospiraceae at three to four months of age,” said Dr. Kozyrskyj. “At three years of age, those same children had a higher body mass index (BMI) than children who were not exposed to frequent home use of disinfectants as infants.”

Her research team used data from 757 children participating in the CHILD Cohort Study and examined the effect of exposure to three categories of household cleaners—disinfectants, detergents and eco-friendly products—on the infant gut microbiome.

“We did not find a relationship between detergents and gut microbiome change or obesity risk that was independent of disinfectant usage,” added Dr. Kozyrskyj, noting that it was important to distinguish detergents from disinfectants since the usage of both is highly correlated.

The study also found that infants in households where "eco" (or ecologically friendly) were frequently used had lower odds of becoming overweight or obese—but this was not related to their gut microbiome as an infant.

“Infants growing up in households with heavy use of eco cleaners had lower levels of different types of gut microbes such as Enterobacteriaceae. However, we found no evidence that these specific microbiome differences were associated with the reduced obesity risk,” said AllerGen trainee Mon Tun, a PhD student at the University of Alberta and first author of the study.

Tun speculated instead that mothers in households using eco products may also eat healthier food and, thus, have healthier microbiomes during pregnancy, which may in turn have a positive impact on the newborn microbiome and later weight gain.

“Our findings suggest that parents may help to protect their child’s gut microbiome and reduce the risk of weight gain and obesity by eliminating disinfectant agents in household cleaning regimes,” says Dr. Kozyrskyj. “Bottom line: we recommend against the frequent use of disinfectant cleaners in households with infants and suggest that parents consider alternative cleaning products.”

Links: Press release | Commentary in CMAJ

The amount of time young children spend sitting in front of screens has increased with the growing use of gaming consoles and mobile devices. Parents, healthcare providers and educators may be left wondering: How much screen time is too much?

Researchers from the CHILD Cohort Study recently helped to answer this question by examining screen time exposure among 2,400 toddlers and preschoolers and measuring its impact on behaviour and emotional status at age five.

AllerGen investigator Dr. Piush Mandhane, site leader for the CHILD Cohort Study in Edmonton, Alberta, and an associate professor of pediatrics in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, led the study. The research was published in the journal PLOS One  in April 2019.

“We found that screen time had a significant impact on behaviour at five years of age,” said Dr. Mandhane. “The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines call for no more than two hours of screen time a day at that age. Our research suggests that less is even better.”

Parents participating in the CHILD Cohort Study reported their child’s total screen time per day, including watching TV and DVD’s, and using computers, video consoles, smartphones and tablets. They also completed a standardized questionnaire about their child’s behaviour at five years of age to report on “externalizing” behavioural problems, such as acting out, inattention, and aggression, and “internalizing” behavioural problems, such as anxiety, depression, and being withdrawn.

The study revealed that at age three, 42% of children exceeded the recommended less than one hour of screen time per day; the average viewing time was 1.5 hours per day. At age five, 13% of children exceeded the recommended less than two hours of screen time per day; the average viewing time was 1.4 hours per day.

Compared with children who had less than 30 minutes per day of screen time, children who were exposed to more than two hours of screen time per day were five times more likely to exhibit clinically significant “externalizing” behavioural problems such as inattention. They were also over seven times more likely to meet the criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The researchers also identified factors that protected children from the negative effects of screen use. Good quality sleep had a small impact, while participation in organized sports had a highly significant protective effect.

“Interestingly, it wasn’t physical activity on its own that was protective; the activity needed to have structure,” says the paper’s first author Dr. Sukhpreet Tamana, an AllerGen Highly Qualified Personnel and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. “The more time children spent doing organized sports, the less likely they were to exhibit behavioural problems.”

The study did not determine if the media content itself (educational, video games, social media) or screen type (television, computer, tablet) were important predictors of behavioural problems, which offers an interesting area for further research, suggests Dr. Tamana.

While the researchers believe “less is more” when it comes to screen time, they do not advocate for eliminating it entirely. “Our findings suggest that less than 30 minutes a day is the optimal amount of screen time for preschoolers,” adds Dr. Mandhane.

“Parents, caregivers and educators should strive to balance a child’s screen use with other opportunities for healthy active living, including participating in organized physical activities and prioritizing adequate sleep. The preschool period is an ideal time for education on healthy relationships with screens, and we believe our study shows that you can't start too early.”

Link: Press release | ResearchSKETCH  lay summary

In 2018-19, the CHILD Cohort Study published new research that is helping doctors and parents better predict which children are at risk for sleep disorders in order to intervene early with treatment.

A trio of CHILD studies examined how shorter or disrupted sleep during the first two years of life can affect a toddler’s development; identified four distinct types of sleep-disordered breathing that occur in infants, along with unique risk factors associated with each; and highlighted the link between a mother’s educational level and emotional state, and her infant’s sleep patterns.

AllerGen investigator Dr. Piush Mandhane, head of the CHILD Cohort Study's Edmonton site and an associate professor of pediatrics in the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, led the three studies, which were published by Sleep Medicine  in its June 2018 and February 2019 issues.

“Sleep affects a baby’s growth, learning and emotional development, and is one of the most common concerns of new parents,” says Dr. Mandhane. “This research helps parents and professionals understand the factors that can cause sleep problems and the need to intervene early to give babies get the best start in life.”

Importance of sleep

In the first study, the researchers found that infants who regularly sleep less than 12 hours total over any given 24-hour period have poorer cognitive and language development at two years of age than infants who get more sleep. They also found that nighttime sleep had a greater impact on cognitive and language development compared to daytime sleep, and a short nighttime sleep was associated with a 10.1-point decrease in cognitive development using a standardized test of mental and motor development.

"A drop of 10 points represents nearly a full standard deviation on the cognitive scale," explains Dr. Mandhane. "It's quite a substantial difference.”

The researchers further found that babies who had disrupted sleep due to issues like snoring or sleep apnea, known as sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), also had lower language scores at two years of age, but no difference in cognitive scores, compared to children with no SDB. There are a few possible explanations for this finding, according to AllerGen trainee Dr. Lisa Smithson, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Alberta and the study's first author.

"One theory is that language acquisition is more sensitive to sleep disruption than cognitive development. Alternatively, the link between SDB and language delay may be the result of kids having multiple nose and ear infections, which tend to impair hearing and speech," she says.

Risk factors

In the second study, Dr. Mandhane's team analyzed data from a subset of 770 children involved in the CHILD Cohort Study and delved into the children’s snoring patterns, hoping to find out if there were different types of snorers and what factors might be influencing them.

Parents completed questionnaires regarding their child's sleep patterns and SDB symptoms, and answered questions about daycare/location away from home, cold (rhinitis) symptoms and treatment, acid reflux symptoms and treatment, and inhaled corticosteroid use. When they were a year old, the children underwent a specialized sleep test, as well as a skin-prick test to determine allergic sensitization.

The researchers identified four patterns of SDB from infancy to two years of age: i) no SDB; ii) early-onset SDB with peak symptoms at nine months of age; iii) late-onset SDB with peak symptoms at 18 months of age; and iv) persistent SDB with symptoms from three to 24 months.

"We found that infants given acid-reflux medication were more likely to develop early-onset SDB, while exposure to environmental factors such as smoke or dog dander was more associated with late-onset SDB. Children at risk for allergies or with divorced parents were more likely to present with persistent SDB," explains Dr. Mandhane.

Maternal factors linked to baby’s sleep

In a third study, CHILD Cohort Study research found that babies sleep less at three months of age if their mothers do not have a university degree, experienced depression during pregnancy or had an emergency cesarean-section delivery.

“While earlier research has linked a mother’s socioeconomic status, including level of education, to shorter infant sleep duration, we have not really understood the factors at play,” says AllerGen investigator and co-lead author Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj, also a professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta. “Our study revealed that 30% of the effect of maternal education on infant sleep duration is mediated by a mother’s prenatal depression, as well as the type of delivery.”

She says there are several possible explanations for the association between maternal depression and infant sleep: mothers in distress tend to have sleep problems during pregnancy, which can be "transmitted" to the fetus via the mother’s circadian clock and melatonin levels; and maternal depression and emergency cesarean section can both lead to elevated free cortisol levels, which, in turn, may cause an exaggerated stress response in infants that negatively impacts their sleep.

“These findings suggest that prenatal depression and birth mode are potential targets for healthcare professionals and policy makers to improve infant sleep duration,” adds first author Brittany Matenchuk, an AllerGen trainee at the University of Alberta.

Dr. Mandhane hopes that the findings from all three studies will encourage parents to consult their pediatrician about any sleep concerns early so that infant sleep problems do not persist into childhood.

Link: Press release (Studies 1 & 2) | Press release (Study 3)

Previous AllerGen research has shown that nearly 500,000 Canadian children have a food allergy. Given the amount of time kids spend at school, where they may be exposed to food allergens, an AllerGen-funded research team set out to analyze Canadian laws and policies that apply to managing food allergies in the school setting.

Led by Professor Timothy Caulfield, a law professor at the University of Alberta and a well-known expert in health and science policy issues, the researchers wanted to know whether a food allergy is legally considered a disability and whether food bans are a legally required accommodation to protect allergic students.

Examining the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Supreme Court of Canada rulings, recent federal and provincial human rights legislation, and case law, the team identified instances where Canadian courts clearly determined that food allergy was a disability.

“Food allergy is legally considered a disability, even for individuals who experience only mild allergic reactions,” says Professor Caulfield.

“This triggers a legal duty for schools to ensure that food-allergic students receive fair treatment and are not discriminated against due to an allergy. For example, forcing a food-allergic student to eat alone could be considered unfair treatment as this could cause social isolation.”

“Despite this duty to accommodate, our research also found that in most relevant human rights cases concerning banning food allergens, it was concluded that such bans are not legally required."

Recent scientific evidence has shown that banning foods in public settings may not be effective in helping to reduce the number of severe allergic reactions, according to co-author Eric Adams, an associate professor in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Law.

“Some schools have implemented food bans, but recent scientific evidence does not consistently support bans as the most effective way to protect allergic children from accidental exposure to allergens,” says Adams.

“Important protections for food-allergic students and the school community will continue to include education about food sharing, vigilance, and adequate emergency response mechanisms,” says AllerGen Highly Qualified Personnel Blake Murdoch, a research associate at the Health Law Institute and first author of the study. “Of course, if the scientific evidence around food bans changes in the future, the law around it could change as well.”

The team hopes that the study’s findings can be used by students, parents, teachers, and school boards who are making decisions about food allergy policies in their schools or communities.

“There is no one definitive model to deal with food allergies,” notes Professor Caulfield.

“Our study suggests that the best approach for schools looking to craft sensible, effective, and rights-sensitive policies around food allergies is to consider the particular context of their own setting, as well as the available scientific research on best practices for food allergy safety and management.”

Professor Caulfield is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, and Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta.

The research was published in Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology  in October 2018.

Link: Press release | ResearchSKETCH  lay summary

AllerGen researchers, together with collaborators at Harvard Medical School, have demonstrated that an immune cell previously thought to be involved in maintaining lifelong food allergies is likely not the culprit after all.

The research, published in May 2019 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found that IgE⁺ memory B cells are extremely rare in the blood of food-allergic individuals, which, in turn, suggests that these cells are likely not responsible for how the immune system “remembers” food allergens.

To enable this discovery, the researchers developed a novel, cutting-edge technique for blood analysis, which entails genetic analysis at the single-cell level.

“Previous research has proposed that upon re-encountering a food allergen, IgE⁺ memory B cells become activated and replenish the cells that produce IgE antibodies, which ultimately triggers an allergic reaction; however, no one has been able to decipher how the IgE memory works,” said lead researcher Dr. Manel Jordana, a professor of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University.

“Our study has shown the extreme rarity of IgE⁺ memory B cells in the blood of food-allergic patients, suggesting that the presence of these cells is neither a predictor of allergy nor what maintains it.”

The research team included AllerGen investigator Dr. Susan Waserman, AllerGen Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) Dr. Rodrigo Jiménez-Saiz, graduate student Kelly Bruton, and medical students Yosef Ellenbogen and Paul Spill, all at McMaster University, along with Drs Wayne Shreffler and Sarita Patil at Harvard Medical School.

To date, one of the best ways to identify human cells has been flow cytometry—a technique that analyzes and sorts cells according to their distinguishing characteristics, such as proteins on the outer surface. But current-generation flow cytometry is only detailed enough to place cells in broad categories.

To more precisely analyze immune cell populations, Dr. Jordana’s team used the enhanced detection method to analyze the blood of 10 individuals with a peanut allergy and 10 individuals without an allergy.

“We found that previously reported flow cytometry protocols resulted in a high rate of false-positive events and grossly overestimated the frequency of IgE⁺ memory B cells in blood,” said the paper’s first author Dr. Jiménez-Saiz, an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster. “Our technique demonstrated the extreme rarity of these cells, suggesting that assessing the presence of IgE⁺ memory B cells is not useful as a clinical marker for food allergy.”

“Recent research, including some of our own work, suggests that IgG1 memory B cell subsets are the true reservoir of allergen-specific memory, which represents a considerable shift from previous thinking,” added Dr. Jordana. “These findings strengthen the concept that the reservoir of IgE-secreting cells resides in memory B cells of a non-IgE isotype and, as such, informs future research directions.”

Link: Press release

Since 2005, AllerGen’s Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) program has supported more than 1,700 young researchers in the training phase of their careers and invested $26.4 million in HQP programming, including $22.3 million in research support and $4.1 million in awards, grants and fellowships.

In April 2019, upon completion of its full 14 years of NCE funding, AllerGen vested several of its major HQP award programs with Legacy Partners to ensure continued training and funding opportunities for Canadian trainees and sustained, ongoing benefits for Canadians.

EMERGING CLINICIAN-SCIENTIST FELLOWSHIPS

AllerGen investment (2011-2019):  This two-year Fellowship, which provides the highest annual award value of any Fellowship in Canada, has supported Canadian clinical immunologists and allergists in their pursuit of research training and a combined career as a clinician and academic researcher. AllerGen has invested $1 million to support four outstanding clinician-scientists: the first three recipients have completed their Fellowships and gone on to develop highly impactful Canadian research programs.

Legacy (2019 & beyond):  Three of AllerGen’s national partners, spanning clinical, government and industry sectors, have jointly taken up this award to support Canadian allergists, clinical immunologists, MD clinician-scientists and basic scientists undertaking translational academic research in allergic asthma. With in-kind adjudication support from AllerGen, the CIHR-CAAIF-AstraZeneca-AllerGen Emerging Researcher Awards in Allergic Asthma  will continue to facilitate enhanced patient care by supporting excellence in basic and translational research.

GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS

AllerGen investment (2017-2019):  Co-funded with Asthma Canada since 2017, these awards have supported Master’s and Doctoral students across Canada who are involved in early-onset and late-onset asthma research. The awards advance promising research and fster the next generation of outstanding asthma researchers in Canada. AllerGen has invested $60,000 to support seven outstanding award recipients.

Legacy (2019 & beyond):  AllerGen Legacy Partners CAAIF and Asthma Canada will jointly fund the CAAIF-Asthma Canada Graduate Student Research Awards  to create value-added opportunities for the training, education and professional development of graduate students, as well as to search for a cure for asthma.

UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER STUDENTSHIPS

AllerGen investment (2012-2019):  AllerGen’s Undergraduate Summer Studentships  program has provided unique capacity-building opportunities for the Network’s undergraduate students, enabling them to work alongside AllerGen investigators and their teams on allergic disease research. Since 2012, AllerGen has invested $460,000 in Studentships to support 75 trainees.

Legacy (2019 & beyond):  CSACI, an AllerGen Legacy Partner, will offer Summer Studentships to enable undergraduate trainees and medical students to conduct research in asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, chronic urticaria, food allergy, anaphylaxis, immunodeficiency and other immunological diseases.

In April 2018, AllerGen launched a novel awards program designed to recognize exemplary mentorship and a commitment to developing mentorship skills.

The awards, which celebrate the initiatives of the Network’s participants, partners and collaborators, were created to honour the memory of Michelle Harkness, Manager of AllerGen’s Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) Training and Events Program from 2011 to 2017, who passed away suddenly in August 2017.

Through Michelle’s unwavering commitment to helping the Network’s students, early-career professionals, research staff, researchers, and partner organizations achieve their personal and career goals, and reach their full potential, AllerGen’s HQP program became a model emulated by other Networks of Centres of Excellence across Canada.

Michelle Harkness (centre) with trainees

The Michelle Harkness Mentorship Awards (MHMA) are unique in Canada in that they not only recognize demonstrated mentorship excellence, but they also build mentorship skills and capacity among the next generation of scientists, researchers and healthcare professionals. The awards comprise three categories: 1. Lifetime Mentoring Achievement ; 2. Mentorship Excellence (Investigator and non-Investigator) ; and 3. Mentorship Development Grants  to support activities that build mentoring skills and capacity.

In 2018, donors contributed $25,000 to fund the MHMA program; AllerGen matched donations dollar-for-dollar for a total program value of $50,000. A 16-member advisory committee, which included Michelle Harkness’ husband and daughter, in collaboration with two Canadian mentorship experts—Dr. Wendy Levinson (Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto) and Dr. Aubrey Tingle (Professor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia)—developed and adjudicated the program.

MHMA award recipients: click to enlarge and for details

The inaugural MHMA awards were presented in January 2019, at AllerGen’s final Research Conference in Toronto, ON. Eight exceptional AllerGen network participants were recognized for their excellence as mentors, and four other individuals were awarded grants to support the development of their mentoring skills.

The impact of the MHMA program is being felt across Canada. The 2018-2019 recipients are: leading efforts to advance the uptake and use of evidence-informed decision making within Canada’s public health sector; overseeing a Young Canadians Roundtable on Health; establishing a network of academic women mentors; and providing individual and group mentoring for Canadian research trainees, among many other activities and initiatives.

In 2019-2020, the MHMA program expanded beyond the AllerGen network and is now open to any Canadian citizen or landed immigrant working in the fields of airways or allergic disease. Beginning in 2020, the MHMA awards ceremony will be hosted bi-annually by two national organizations: the Canadian Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation (CAAIF) at its annual Gala, which attracts over 200 attendees; and the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) at its annual scientific conference, the Canadian Respiratory Conference, which attracts 650 delegates from clinical and scientific communities across Canada.

Link: MHMA Program

In 2018-2019, at their respective annual Scientific Meetings, two Legacy partner organizations recognized the leadership of AllerGen’s Scientific Director and CEO Dr. Judah Denburg and AllerGen's Managing Director and COO Dr. Diana Royce.

Dr. Judah Denburg: Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI) Jerry Dolovich Award

On September 15, 2018, the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI) presented Dr. Judah Denburg with the Jerry Dolovich Award  for his contributions to the field of allergy and clinical immunology in Canada.

The award is named after the late Dr. Jerry Dolovich, a highly respected allergy researcher, clinician, and educator who was based at McMaster University from 1968 until his passing in 1997.

“Dr. Judah Denburg is an amazing colleague, clinician, researcher and, to a large degree, visionary, and it is extremely fitting that he is being honoured with the Jerry Dolovich Award,” observed Dr. Allan Becker, as he announced the honour at the 2018 CSACI Dinner and Awards reception.

“They were colleagues at McMaster University, where Jerry was an allergist and Judah a hematologist. It is fortunate for us, however, that Judah was interested in the eosinophil, which took him into the area of allergy, especially allergy as a systemic disease process.”

“Judah’s vision and drive to understand the underpinnings of allergic disease, through his own research and by establishing the nation-wide network, AllerGen, has greatly benefited the state of allergy and allergy research in this country,” summarized Dr. Becker.

Dr. Denburg conveyed his acceptance and gratitude by pre-recorded video.

Dr. Diana Royce: Canadian Thoracic Society Research Partnerships Award

On April 11, 2019, Dr. Diana Royce was honoured with the Canadian Thoracic Society Research Partnerships Award  in recognition of her “leadership in building community partnerships to advance respiratory research and education” – a part of her legacy as the Managing Director & COO of AllerGen from 2004 to 2019.

Dr. John Granton, CTS President, presented the award to Dr. Royce in Ottawa, Ontario, during the 12^th Annual Canadian Respiratory Conference, which attracts 650 delegates from clinical and scientific communities across Canada.

CTS President Dr. Granton presents the award to Dr. Royce.

“It has been my privilege to have had the opportunity to collaborate with the CTS Executive team over the years – most frequently with Janet Sutherland (Executive Director) and Anne Van Dam (Director of Knowledge Mobilization), but also with other outstanding individuals from the CTS Board and Society membership, to support novel research, knowledge mobilization and knowledge translation initiatives,” commented Dr. Royce.

“This CTS Research Partnership Award means a great deal because it reflects the value of what we at AllerGen refer to as 'the Network way of working,' which takes the form of inclusive, meaningful, respectful engagement of people and organizations across a wide range sectors, disciplines, expertise, provinces, and levels of experience – from trainees to world leaders in their fields.”

The grants support Master’s and Doctoral students from across Canada who are involved in early-onset and late-onset asthma research. This initiative not only advances promising research, but also fosters the next generation of outstanding asthma researchers in Canada. This marks the second disbursement of awards from this program. The inaugural recipients were announced in March 2018.

“Through this awards program, we are enabling graduate students to investigate better management practices and treatments, as well as to search for a cure for asthma, a condition that affects more than three million Canadians,” said Vanessa Foran, President and CEO of Asthma Canada.

“We are delighted to partner with Asthma Canada on this joint initiative, launched in 2017, to help early career researchers bring new ideas, innovations and discoveries to the field of asthma research,” added Dr. Judah Denburg, Scientific Director and CEO of AllerGen.

Link: Press release

2018-2019 Graduate Student Research Award recipients

Asthma Canada / AllerGen Bastable-Potts Graduate Student Research Award: $20,000 to support investigations into late-onset asthma by a PhD student

• 

  Xiaoshu Cao

  University of Toronto

  Supervisor: Dr. T. Douglas Bradley, Professor, Department of Medicine

  “Investigating the effects of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and rostral fluid shift on the pathophysiology of asthma.”

Asthma Canada / AllerGen Bastable-Potts Graduate Student Research Awards: $20,000 to support investigations into late-onset asthma by a PhD student

• 

  Ryan Huff

  The University of British Columbia

  Supervisor: Dr. Christopher Carlsten, Professor, Head of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine

  “Diesel Exhaust Induces Glucocorticoid Resistance (DIGR).”

Asthma Canada / AllerGen Goran-Enhorning Graduate Research Award: $10,000 to support investigations into early-onset asthma by an M.Sc. student

• 

  Jaclyn Parks

  Simon Fraser University

  Supervisor: Dr. Tim Takaro, Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences; Associate Dean, Research

  “Exploring Low Cotinine Levels as a Biomarker of Tobacco Use & Dietary Intake.”

Asthma Canada / AllerGen Goran-Enhorning Graduate Research Award: $8,925 to support investigations into early-onset asthma by a PhD student

• 

  Hadeesha Piyadasa

  University of Manitoba

  Supervisor: Dr. Neeloffer Mookherjee, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine & Immunology

  “An immunomodulatory innate defence regulator (IDR) peptide alleviates airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness.”

AllerGen’s Success Stories is written for Canadian families and healthcare providers, providing up-to-date information on cutting-edge research into asthma, allergies and anaphylaxis; exploring what causes these illnesses, and how better to manage, treat and prevent them, detailing progress toward finding cures.

Since 2010, AllerGen has published and distributed 12 issues of Success Stories to over 1,200 Network participants, partners and knowledge users.

In addition to diverse topics in the areas of asthma and allergies, Success Stories, available in both English and French, features accomplishments of AllerGen’s Highly Qualified Personnel.

AllerGen’s ResearchSKETCHES  translate AllerGen-funded research into simple, clear language summaries for healthcare professionals, community organizations, policymakers, decision-makers, and the general public.

Each SKETCH answers four questions: What is the research about? What did the researchers do? What did they find? How can the research be used?

By making research accessible to diverse Canadian audiences, AllerGen enables the uptake and implementation of its research results, leading to impact on policies, practice and educational programs.

Each SKETCH  is written by an AllerGen Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) who worked on the AllerGen research project and co-authored the journal publication.

By providing lay writing training and editorial support, the SKETCHES  program builds knowledge translation (KT) skills among Network trainees, empowering young researchers to make their findings accessible and relevant to a broad lay audience.

Available in English and French, ResearchSKETCHES  can be accessed on AllerGen’s website and are widely disseminated in print at conferences, stakeholder events, and in allergy and asthma clinics across the country.

Visit ResearchSKETCHES on the AllerGen website.

Ongoing research led by Dr. Meghan Azad using CHILD Cohort Study data has shed light on the breastmilk microbiome, as well as breastfeeding’s protective effects against asthma, allergies, obesity and diabetes – and the world is paying attention.

In 2018-19, major media outlets including The New York Times, the Globe and Mail, the CBC’s Quirks & Quarks, and SPLASH! milk science update  profiled Dr. Azad’s research, making it accessible to healthcare professionals, policymakers, parents and the public in Canada and abroad.

Dr. Azad is an AllerGen investigator, a Canada Research Chair in Developmental Origins of Chronic Disease at the University of Manitoba, and a research scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM). She co-leads the Manitoba site of the CHILD Cohort Study.

The idea that breastmilk has a microbiome (a community of bacteria living within it) is relatively new and has sparked debate about where breastmilk bacteria come from—a mother’s gut or her baby’s mouth?

In February 2019, Dr. Azad, along with Dr. Shirin Moossavi, an AllerGen trainee and a PhD candidate at the University of Manitoba, published findings that help to answer this question. They found that milk bacteria are different in mothers who pump their milk and that pumping may prevent the transfer of oral bacteria from the infant to the mother and might introduce other bacteria from the pump.

They found that indirect breastfeeding (defined as providing at least one serving of pumped milk in the two weeks preceding the collection of a breastmilk sample for the study) was associated with a lower abundance of beneficial Bifidobacteria.

“We found this especially interesting because we had previously found that feeding pumped breast milk – while advantageous compared to formula – was less beneficial than nursing at the breast when it comes to protecting infants from asthma and obesity,” said Dr. Azad.

The research involved data from nearly 400 infants and their mothers participating in the larger CHILD Cohort Study, making this one of the largest studies of the human milk microbiome performed to date, according to the authors.

Dr. Azad’s team further found that direct breastfeeding (without a pump) was associated with breastmilk microbes typically found in the mouth, as well as higher overall bacterial richness and diversity.

“Taken together, these findings suggest that direct contact between the mother’s breast and the baby’s mouth is important, such that when a baby nurses, some bacteria from his or her mouth travels back into the mother’s breast, eventually becoming part of the breastmilk microbiome,” says Dr. Azad.

Dr. Azad adds that breastmilk, even if it's pumped, is still the best food for babies.

"One thing that’s pretty clear is that there’s a dose response, meaning that every bit of breastmilk counts,” she says. “My hope is that our results will inspire new research about infant feeding and the microbiome that will benefit all babies, regardless of how they are fed.”

In May 2019, the CHILD Cohort Study launched its newest knowledge translation video, taking viewers on a journey into the world of a baby’s gut microbiome – the universe of bacteria and other organisms that live in a baby's digestive tract.

The playfully animated 4.5-minute video describes the CHILD Cohort Study research that has found that babies' gut bacteria can be altered by many factors, including:

• the way a baby is born (cesarean-section or vaginal delivery);
• what a baby is fed (breastmilk or formula); and
• whether a baby is exposed to antibiotics, furry pets or household cleaning products.

It also introduces some microbial superheroes and illustrates the research finding that babies with low levels of four specific gut bacteria in their first three months of life are more likely to develop asthma.

Developed with CHILD Cohort Study stakeholders, study participants and researchers to ensure its accessibility and appeal to a wide lay audience, the video has been widely promoted by AllerGen partner organizations and was viewed more than 1,750 times in its first month on YouTube.

Watch the video and find out how discoveries from the CHILD Cohort Study are helping us to understand allergies, asthma, obesity, and everyday health and wellbeing, especially during childhood.

5 microbiome studies

4 bacterial superheroes

Home environment

Breastfeeding

Popcorn, prizes and photo ops were on the playbill for Vancouver-based CHILD Cohort Study families as they arrived at a special Movie Night on June 11, 2019.

Organized by the Vancouver CHILD Cohort Study research team, the event gave kids, siblings and parents a sneak peek screening of a new documentary called Let Them Eat Dirt, The Hunt for our Kids’ Missing Microbes, which features several CHILD Cohort Study researchers.

Families arrive to Vancouver movie night

Arriving at the big screen inside BC Children’s Hospital Chan auditorium, the children received red-carpet treatment with balloons, t-shirts, colouring postcards, jellybean guessing games and an array of movie-theatre snacks. According to nine-year-old Vancouver study participants Sam Rose and Hazel Bartlett, the “whole thing was really fun” and the trailers shown before the film were “almost as good as the movie!”

“Before the movie started, they showed a video that Sam and I made to explain what kids in the study can expect during the eight-year-old clinical visit,” said Hazel.

A new animated science video highlighting the CHILD Cohort Study’s discoveries about an infant’s gut microbiome was also shown. “That video was really cool,” added Sam. “I liked the characters and it was easy to understand.”

Watching Let Them Eat Dirt

CHILD Cohort Study researcher Dr. B. Brett Finlay and Study co-Director Dr. Stuart Turvey introduced Let Them Eat Dirt, in which they star with other international microbiome experts, including fellow CHILD Cohort Study investigators Drs Marie-Claire Arrieta (University of Calgary) and Meghan Azad (University of Manitoba).

Based on the bestselling book by Drs Finlay and Arrieta, the documentary explains how the millions of microbes that live on and in our bodies (the microbiome) influence childhood development; why an imbalance in the microbiome can lead to obesity, diabetes, or asthma, among other chronic conditions; and how parents can take concrete steps to positively impact their child’s long-term health.

Let Them Eat Dirt: The Hunt for our Kids’ Missing Microbes  will be released across North America in 2019.

A question and answer session with Drs Turvey and Finlay following the movie was a highlight for both the families and the researchers. “I can’t believe how science-savvy these kids are,” remarked Dr. Finlay. “I was really impressed, particularly when a child asked if good microbes can become bad microbes and vice versa. That’s a pretty sophisticated question!”

L to R: Drs B. Brett Finlay and Stuart Turvey talk to kids and parents in a science Q&A session

Kung Food, a food allergy app for youth and teens developed with AllerGen support, was launched in October 2018 on the Mac App Store and on Google Play.

The mobile application aims to improve the knowledge and skills of youth living with food allergies.

It features food allergy trivia games; a quick-reference allergy guide; an allergy attack simulator; and helpful information that deals with topics on school, bullying, restaurants, travel, friends, socializing, dating, and dealing with stress. The app is socially integrated, allowing users to build, educate and engage with their own support groups.

Kung Food was developed with funding from AllerGen’s National Food Allergy Strategic Team (NFAST) by researchers at the Children’s Allergy & Asthma Education Centre (CAAEC) – a program of the Department of Pediatrics and Child Heath at the Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg – under the leadership of AllerGen investigator Dr. Allan Becker.

Collaborators on the project include AllerGen legacy partner Food Allergy Canada and its Youth Advisory Panel, as well as Tactica Interactive, a digital media company that specializes in cross-platform digital media strategy and products for researchers.

Shauna Filuk, a Nurse Educator from CAAEC, presented an abstract about the app, “Development of a Food Allergy App for School Age Children and Teens at Risk for Food-Induced Anaphylaxis,” at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI) in Halifax in September 2018.

The app has been widely promoted to clinicians and healthcare professionals as well as the broader food allergy community.

Kung Food demo

In 2018-19, AllerGen trainee Danay Maestre-Batlle (The University of British Columbia) received an AllerGen International Trainee Research Visit Award  to undertake a two-month research visit to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) in Oslo, Norway.

Under the supervision of the NIPH’s Dr. Anette Kocbach Bølling – an expert in environmental toxicology – Ms. Maestre-Batlle researched the effects of phthalates (a commonly used plasticizer) on airway immunology and lung function.

The international visit was conducted as part of the PAIR (Phthalate-Allergen Immune Response) study, led by Dr. Christopher Carlsten at The University of British Columbia. It is the first study to investigate airway and systemic effects in humans due to inhalation of a known concentration of a single phthalate, specifically Dibutyl phthalate (DBP).

AllerGen trainee Danay Maestre-Batlle and supervisor Dr. Anette Kocbach Bølling at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, Norway.

During her visit, Ms. Maestre-Batlle analyzed clinical and experimental data obtained during the PAIR study, allowing for a targeted and accelerated progress of the study.

“The International Research Visit at the NIPH was one of the best experiences of my life! My supervisor, Dr. Kocbach Bølling, was a role model to me.

As a woman in science, I find inspiration from exceptional female researchers, and she is one of the best scientists I know, as well as an exemplary mother and human being.”

“The experience of living and learning about a different culture was a unique opportunity. I have grown as a scientist and as a global citizen, and I have forged new friendships that will last a lifetime. In addition to Dr. Kocbach Bølling, I thank AllerGen and my Canadian supervisor Dr. Christopher Carlsten at The University of British Columbia for their incredible support.”

AllerGen’s International Trainee Research Visit Awards  enable AllerGen trainees to spend six weeks to six months outside of Canada working with international investigators and their research teams. These research visits contribute to the advancement of AllerGen-funded research projects and allow trainees to refine their skills in new environments, gain cultural fluency, and expand their professional networks to succeed in the global economy.

AllerGen HQP seeking to develop specialized technical and laboratory skills need look no further than AllerGen’s Research Skills Awards  program.

Since 2011, the program has funded 32 individual HQP training experiences, including trainee participation in workshops, scientific courses, specialized skills training, conferences and internships.

In 2018-19, AllerGen's Research Skills Awards  supported four HQP to attend the Canadian Lung Association’s RENASCENT Workshop in Vancouver, BC, on April 10-11, 2018. The workshop was co-hosted by the CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR-ICRH) and the Canadian Lung Association (CLA), in partnership with the Canadian Respiratory Research Network (CRRN) and the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS).

RENASCENT workshop topics included:

• “Working” Your Degree For Career Success;
• Publish or Perish: Do’s and Don’ts of Writing High Impact Papers;
• Reviewing Manuscripts: More Art Than Science; and
• Rock your Talk - Speaking with Influence and Impact.

The workshop also included a "speed dating” session with CIHR-funded investigators, industry representatives, and CIHR personnel, and a Networking Reception.

2018-2019 AllerGen Research Skills Awards Recipients

• 

  Loubna Akhabir (McMaster University)

• 

  Laura Feldman (Hospital for Sick Children)

• 

  Young Woong Kim (The University of British Columbia)

• 

  Brittany Matenchuk (University of Alberta)

AllerGen’s Undergraduate Summer Studentships build research capacity and interest among the Network’s undergraduate trainees.

Each year, the program attracts exceptional students from national academic institutions and provides them with an opportunity to participate in funded research projects alongside AllerGen investigators and their teams. This program aims to encourage studies and potential careers in research or clinical practice relevant to allergic disease, asthma, food allergy and anaphylaxis.

Since 2012, 74 trainees have received AllerGen Summer Studentships.

In the 2018-2019 fiscal year, AllerGen funded 15 undergraduate students to participate in this unique, capacity-building program.

Debbie Kao

Undergraduate Summer Studentship recipient
McMaster University
Supervisor: Dr. Judah Denburg

Mirna Ragheb

Undergraduate Summer Studentship recipient
University of Manitoba
Supervisor: Dr. Andrew Halayko

Wayne Tse

Undergraduate Summer Studentship recipient
The University of British Columbia
Supervisor: Dr. Christopher Carlsten

In a display of the broad range of allergic disease research encompassed within the Network, AllerGen trainees shone at the 2018 AllerGen/Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI) Poster Competition. Recognized for their excellence in research, AllerGen trainees won 8 of the 18 poster awards, placing in five of the six categories (Allergic Rhinitis/Asthma, Immunology, Food Allergy/Anaphylaxis, Other Allergy/Immunology, Case Reports, and Allied Health).

The competition was held in conjunction with the CSACI’s 2018 Scientific Meeting, held September 12 to 16, 2018, in Halifax, NS. This was the sixth consecutive year that AllerGen and CSACI, an AllerGen legacy partner, co-hosted the competition.

Attending conferences and field-specific symposia and workshops is an important component of training and career development for AllerGen HQP.

The right conference can introduce trainees to important research others are doing even before it is published, and offer opportunities for public speaking, networking, research collaboration, knowledge exchange, and skill acquisition and development.

To date, more than 350 AllerGen Travel Awards , matched 1:1 with partnered funding, have enabled AllerGen trainees to travel across the world to share their research findings and to network with experts in the field.

In 2018-2019, 37 AllerGen Travel Awards  helped send HQP to 22 high-profile events, including:

• the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Meeting;
• the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting;
• WUN-inFLAME meeting and SyMBIOTA workshop; and
• the European Academy for Allergy and Clinical Immunology Conference (EACCI).

In 2018, AllerGen hosted its 12^th and final Trainee Symposium from May 2-4 in Winnipeg, MB.

The 2018 event drew AllerGen’s highest Symposium attendance: 73 trainees from 15 institutions across nine provinces participated in dynamic, diverse capacity-building workshops identified as high-priority areas by Network trainees.

Attendees of AllerGen's 12^th Trainee Symposium tour the town
(photo: Bassel Dawod)

Since 2006, 573 Network trainees have participated in the Symposium, hosted annually by the Network in a demonstration of its commitment to providing value-added opportunities for the training, education, and professional and personal development of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP).

The Symposium’s objective was to provide Network trainees and ASNPN members with unique value-added professional development opportunities, allowing for skill and knowledge acquisition to enhance career development and complement academic and scientific training.

The Symposium also fostered networking and collaboration among trainees and young professionals who share an interest in the field of allergy and asthma research, and clinical practice.

The Symposium included four skill-building workshops:

• CIHR Mock Grant Review
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Infographic Toolkit for Researchers
• Personality Assessments

Mock Grant Review

A highlight of the three-day Symposium was a CIHR Mock Grant Review session, co-led by Drs Allan Becker, Andrew Halayko, Kevin Coombs, and Richard Keijzer, all from the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Coombs presented on the Anatomy of CIHR Reviews, followed by Dr. Keijzer speaking on How to Write a Research Grant Application and Tell Your Story to CIHR Reviewers.

Trainees assembled into four committees, where they worked with the co-leads to review and score six grant applications previously submitted to CIHR competitions.

Through this collaborative activity, trainees developed an understanding of the CIHR peer-review process and learned how to prepare an effective, fundable grant application for Tri-Agency funding.

Mentoring Dinner

The Mentoring Dinner  gave trainees the opportunity to network and learn from local experts and investigators.

Invited mentors included:

Clinicians/researchers from University of Manitoba

• Dr. Andrew Halayko
• Dr. Kevin Coombs
• Dr. Clare Ramsey
• Dr. Elinor Simons
• Dr. Jennifer Protudjer

Technical/business experts:

• Dr. Forough Khadem (Business Development Specialist, Mitacs)
• Dr. Dustin Lippert (Research Grants Facilitator, University of Manitoba)
• Dr. Loren Oschipok (Technology Transfer Manager, University of Manitoba)

Trainee Bowl Trivia Game Show

During the first-ever AllerGen Trainee Bowl, trainee teams competed in a fast-paced trivia challenge.

The game tested their speed of recall and knowledge about:

• allergic disease research;
• Network investigators and trainees;
• AllerGen’s HQP Program;
• allergies and asthma in popular culture; and
• fun facts about Winnipeg and Manitoba.

The Symposium was a fantastic networking event that opened up doors for a number of opportunities. I am sure the acquaintances I made will turn into work relationships, collaborations and partnerships.

The Symposium gave us the tools to work on transferable skills with the goal of becoming well-rounded scientists and effective communicators.

I have already begun to apply the skills I learned at the Infographics for Researchers seminar and am improving my posters and visual presentations. The CIHR Mock Grant Review  workshop was excellent and the skills I gained will help me craft my own grants in the future.

From first-year undergraduates to postdoctoral fellows, from investment analysts to pharmaceutical executives, AllerGen’s current and former Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) “came home” to participate in the Network’s final Research Conference in Toronto from January 27-30, 2019.

Nearly half of the 220 delegates were AllerGen trainees, some of whom have been involved in the Network for over a decade. Over the three-day conference, trainees re-connected, collaborated, and shared their research with each other and the international experts, keynote speakers and dignitaries in attendance.

Poster Competition

Sixty-nine trainees, research staff and early-career researchers – representing 16 universities and affiliated institutions – participated in the Trainee Poster Competition, presenting their research during 1-Minute | 1-Slide lightning round oral presentations and an adjudicated poster viewing.

The competition was co-chaired by Drs Susan Elliott (University of Waterloo), Gail Gauvreau (McMaster University) and Kelly McNagny (The University of British Columbia) with 33 AllerGen Investigators and partner representatives acting as judges.

In addition to traditional academic posters, the competition featured a Making Research Accessible  category aimed at sharing research findings with a non-scientific audience.

Cash prizes were awarded to the top posters in six categories—Undergraduate, Masters, PhD, Open (PDF, Early Career), Research Staff, and Making Research Accessible.

Click to enlarge and for details

Research Presentations

Several senior trainees also shared their research findings during the conference’s plenary sessions.

Dr. Meaghan Jones, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics at the University of Manitoba, presented results from epigenetic studies within the CHILD Cohort Study; and Dr. Hind Sbihi, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, spoke about new research highlighting the interaction between the environment and the human microbiome.

HQP Networking Dinner

On the second evening of the conference, an HQP Networking Dinner gave trainees an opportunity to engage with AllerGen research leaders, committee members and special guest Dr. David Bates, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, who provided the conference’s opening keynote presentation.

The evening also celebrated the accomplishments of Network trainees and recognized the contributions of AllerGen’s trainee-focused Network committees: the AllerGen Students and New Professionals Network (ASNPN) Executive Committee, and the Advanced Education and Training Opportunities Advisory Committee (AETOAC).

In 2005, AllerGen’s HQP program began with just 83 Network trainees working on Network projects. With support and guidance from the ASNPN Executive Committee, which is composed entirely of trainees, and the AETOAC, a team of external experts and partners, the program has now supported 1,700 research staff and trainees, and invested $26.4 million in HQP programming, including $22.3 million in research support and $4.1 million in awards, grants and fellowships.

These investments have jumpstarted the careers of talented young investigators and clinician-scientists, produced highly employable graduates working in diverse sectors, and strengthened Canada’s research capacity over the long term.

When 15-year-old Laura Wang emailed Dr. Tim Takaro, a professor at Simon Fraser University (SFU), she never imagined it would lead her to the CHILD Cohort Study, a budding research career, and an award-winning science project.

Passionate about science since middle school, the Grade 10 student from Burnaby, BC, decided to find someone who could help her learn what it takes to become a “real” researcher, so she googled Simon Fraser University and looked through their faculty. “Dr. Takaro’s bio jumped out at me because he is interested in child health and chronic diseases, so I emailed him out-of-the-blue. I never really expected him to write me back,” says Ms. Wang.

But Professor Takaro did. And he invited Ms. Wang to come to the SFU campus to meet with him and AllerGen trainee Jaclyn Parks, a Master’s student and Research Associate at the university.

That meeting led to a 12-month collaboration in which the teen worked under the supervision and guidance of Dr. Takaro and Ms. Parks to study the effects of house dust on the development of childhood allergies and asthma.

Using coding and models produced by Ms. Parks, Ms. Wang analyzed house dust samples collected from CHILD Cohort Study homes when the children were three months old, and compared the data to the results of the children’s allergy skin-prick tests at age three, as well as wheezing data, which indicated how often a child experienced repeated episodes of a whistling sound in the chest during early childhood.

Ms. Wang summarized her research results and presented them at the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair (GVRSF). “We showed that dust endotoxin at three months of age is associated with a protective effect for asthma and allergies,” she says.

“We were excited about these results that suggest it’s good for babies to be exposed to endotoxin in house dust, which may help to train the immune system and reduce a risk of allergies and asthma by age three.”

A top ranking at the GVRSF earned Ms. Wang a spot at the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF), held in Fredericton, NB, from May 11 to 17, 2019.

Laura wins gold at the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair in April 2019

At the national competition, Ms. Wang’s paper, titled “Endotoxin's Association with Wheeze and Atopy,” won a Bronze medal and garnered her entrance scholarships to science programs at the University of Ottawa and Western University. She was also recognized with a Canadian Young Researcher Award and a cash prize of $1,000.

Laura exhibits at the 2019 Canada Wide-Science Fair, Fredericton, NB

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) also profiled Ms. Wang’s CHILD research findings in its “Faces of Health Research.”

Ms. Wang is continuing her collaboration with her CHILD Cohort Study mentors to prepare the data for peer review, leading to an open-access publication by the STEM Fellowship Journal, offered as part of her CWSF award.

“I am so pleased that Laura’s interaction with the CHILD Cohort Study has nurtured her zest for scientific exploration,” comments Dr. Padmaja Subbarao, a respirologist at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and the CHILD Cohort Study’s Director.

“All of the CHILD researchers across the country look forward to hearing more about her future accomplishments. She truly represents the next generation of outstanding young Canadian researchers.”

Links: reAction story  |  CIHR Faces of Health Research

The ASNPN is a membership program open to trainees (undergraduate students to postdoctoral fellows), research staff and early-career researchers working in the field of allergic disease in Canada.

The ASNPN is governed by an elected Executive Committee, which meets five times per year by teleconference. The ASNPN President sits as an observer on the AllerGen Board of Directors and is a full voting member of the Advanced Education and Training Opportunities Advisory Committee (AETOAC). The ASNPN Vice-President sits as an observer on AllerGen’s Research Management Committee (RMC).

On February 11, 2017, AllerGen HQP Laura Feldman joined an exclusive audience of more than 100 women and girls to celebrate the 2017 International Day of Women and Girls in Science, held at Facebook Canada’s headquarters in Toronto, ON.

AllerGen supports women in science to develop advanced-stage research expertise. Through its diverse initiatives, AllerGen’s HQP program has attracted and retained a high proportion of female researchers in a gender ratio that exceeds the national average according to data collected by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

First there was an international bestselling book. Now there is an exciting documentary film being released across North America in 2019.

The topic? The importance of early-life microbes for child health. Specifically, how beneficial bacteria in our bodies can be altered by our environment, promoting conditions and diseases such as obesity, diabetes, asthma, and allergies – especially among kids.

Based on the best scientific literature to date – including published research discoveries from the CHILD Cohort Study – Let Them Eat Dirt: The Hunt for our Kids’ Missing Microbes  connects with young families, researchers, and doctors to sleuth out what’s harming our microbiome and learn what can be done to reverse this dangerous trend.

The film stars world-leading microbiologist Dr. B. Brett Finlay (Peter Wall Distinguished Professor, The University of British Columbia) and microbiome expert Dr. Marie-Claire Arrieta (Assistant Professor, University of Calgary), authors of the 2016 bestselling book.

It features interviews with scientific leaders in the field, including AllerGen investigators, children enrolled in the CHILD Cohort Study, as well as parents, children, doctors, healthcare workers and other professionals who help explain the science and share their experiences.

Among the interviews, CHILD co-Director Dr. Stuart Turvey (Professor, The University of British Columbia) sheds light on the link between early-life microbe exposures and long-term health, with a particular focus on asthma; and CHILD Manitoba site co-lead Dr. Meghan Azad (Assistant Professor, University of Manitoba) helps us understand why breastmilk should be considered the first “personalized medicine.”

Author Dr. B. Brett Finlay with AllerGen’s Managing Director, Dr. Diana Royce, at a special Let Them Eat Dirt  screening on March 13, 2019, in Vancouver, BC.

Let Them Eat Dirt: The Hunt for our Kids’ Missing Microbes  will be released across North America in 2019.

The film was supported by AllerGen Strategic Initiative funding and produced by Emmy award-winning producer Rivkah Beth Medow.

Marking the culmination of 14 years of research, knowledge mobilization, commercialization, and trainee capacity building, AllerGen held its ninth and final Research Conference from January 27-30, 2019, in Toronto, ON.

Themed An impactful past ~ A formidable future, the conference featured three days filled with exciting Network research results; the latest knowledge translation, exchange and transfer initiatives; and new networking and Legacy opportunities.

The program included six world-leading keynote speakers; nine discussion panels comprising 38 research presentations; 73 scientific posters and oral presentations by trainees; and a gala evening of awards and recognitions, including the presentation of the inaugural Michelle Harkness Mentorship Awards.

Keynote speakers and topics included:

• Dr. David Bates from the Harvard School of Public Health: Electronic Health Records and How Big Data Can Offer New Insights
• Professor Timothy Caulfield from the University of Alberta: Twisted Science – A Call to Action
• Dr. James Gern from the University of Wisconsin: Deciphering the Equations for Childhood Asthma(s)
• Dr. Leroy Hood from the Institute for Systems Biology: 21st Century Medicine will Transform Healthcare
• Dr. Kari Nadeau from the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University: The Future of Food Allergy
• Dr. Sally Wenzel from the University of Pittsurgh: Precision Medicine in Asthma – from Biology to Biologics

Over 220 delegates participated; nearly half were current or former AllerGen trainees and many were Network investigators or committee members that have served since AllerGen’s inception.

With support from a CIHR Planning and Dissemination Grant, the event afforded a unique, knowledge exchange forum in which AllerGen’s Legacy partners and stakeholders from across sectors collaborated with Network investigators and trainees to showcase the many accomplishments and impacts of AllerGen’s partnered research investments.

Members of four Canadian families participating in the CHILD Cohort Study—one from each of the provinces represented—were embedded into the day-long program on the CHILD Study. The children and their parents were part of a discussion panel where they spoke to researchers, clinicians and community groups about their involvement in the Study; about what participating has entailed for them and how the process might be improved; about their motivations for continuing in the Study for years to come; and about how their engagement has informed their perspectives on, and fuelled their interest in, science.

The conference also engaged stakeholders from industry, government, and clinical practice to co-present Network research accomplishments; strategize knowledge mobilization approaches to disseminating research outputs; and explore opportunities for future, sustained commercialization, clinical translation and knowledge mobilization.

Representatives from Asthma Canada, UNICEF Canada, and The Sandbox Project shared their experiences as members of the CHILD Cohort Study Knowledge Mobilization Stakeholder Advisory Committee and spoke about the importance of empowering families, communities, and information gatekeepers with accessible evidence-based research they value and trust.

AllerGen’s Clinical Investigator Collaborative (CIC) program included a presentation titled “The role of clinical models in drug development” by Dr. Paul Newbold, representing CIC industry partner AstraZeneca.

Health Canada, Food Allergy Canada, the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) and the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI) all contributed to the National Food Allergy Strategic Team (NFAST) program, highlighting how AllerGen and its partners have changed the global landscape of food allergy research.

The conference highlighted the legacy of innovation that AllerGen has forged since 2005 and set the stage for ongoing post-NCE collaborations among multisectoral groups, whose unique insights, perspectives and experiences will enable the rapid and efficient uptake of Network knowledge for years to come.

CHILD Founding Director Dr. Malcolm Sears with four study participants at the 2019 Research Conference

Testimonials  |  Photo Gallery |  Sponsors

AllerGen NCE Inc. (AllerGen) is selected for support in the 2004 round of applications for new Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCEs).

Beginning in fall 2004, AllerGen engages in a wide range of start-up activities, including the appointment of an outstanding board of directors and related committees, the evaluation and funding of Network supported research projects, the recruitment of researchers, trainees and Administrative Centre staff and the identification of performance indicators.

NCE funding

The NCE 2004-05 Annual Report announces the selection of AllerGen for funding.

Click for details

Board of Directors

AllerGen recruits it's first Board of Directors line-up.

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Host Institution

McMaster University signs on to serve as host institution.

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AllerGen launches a national clinical trials consortium—the AllerGen Clinical Investigator Collaborative (CIC).

The consortium consists of four research centres that evaluate the potential effectiveness of new molecules proposed to treat airway inflammation and simultaneously study the mechanics of allergic disease.

Clinical Investigator Collaborative

Click for details

First Research Conference

AllerGen's first Annual Research Conference, Innovation from Cell to Society, draws over 120 delegates to Toronto, ON.

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CAIDATI training program

AllerGen's Canadian Allergy and Immune Diseases Advanced Training Inititaive (CAIDATI) aims to build training capacity nationally.

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First slate of projects approved

27 proposals are accepted for funding across the Network’s five research themes.

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Research themes consolidated

AllerGen's five research themes are consolidated into three programmatic thrusts.

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International Partnership Initiative (IPI)

AllerGen's IPI fosters collaboration with five international allergic disease research organizations.

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1^st Poster Competition

AllerGen's 1^st adjudicated poster competition is held as part of its 2^nd research conference.

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1^st Trainee Symposium

AllerGen's inaugural Trainee Symposium, Advancing Professional Excellence, is held in King City, ON.

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ASNPN HQP Network

AllerGen's ASNPN is established to foster networking, knowledge exchange and skills development among trainees.

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Birth cohort pilot

AllerGen seed-funds a pilot birth cohort project: Mini-CHILD, exploring the onset and development of allergic disease.

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Food allergy research

AllerGen's CanGoFar team studies new ways to diagnose and treat food allergies.

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AllerGen-GABRIEL partnership

AllerGen partners with the pan-European GABRIEL consortium in the largest-ever study of genetic associations for asthma.

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3^rd Research Conference

Over 200 Canadian and international delegates attend AllerGen's 3^rd Research Conference in Banff, Alberta.

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Topigen partnership

AllerGen and bio-pharmaceutical company Topigen partner to provide hands-on training.

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2^nd Trainee Symposium

Thirty trainees from 10 universities attended the 2^nd Trainee Symposium, Your Entrepreneurial Future, in King City, ON.

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NCE funding renewal

AllerGen successfully passes its first mid-term review and its NCE funding is renewed to 2012.

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CHILD Study launch

AllerGen's birth cohort study is launched in response to a Ministerial report on children's health in Canada.

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Cross-programmatic research teams

Four multidisciplinary AllerGen teams form to focus on areas of research priority.

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Asthma and low-income families

An AllerGen study reveals that children from low-income families have less adequate asthma control.

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4^th Research Conference

AllerGen holds its fourth annual Research Conference, From Cell to Society⁴ in Ottawa, ON.

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3^rd Trainee Symposium, Poster Competition

AllerGen holds its third Trainee Symposium, Science, Society and Beyond, in Victoria, BC.

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Asthma-related genetic database

An AllerGen team creates a global online resource for allergy and asthma researchers.

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KT tool for researchers

AllerGen creates an online tool to help researchers develop knowledge translation plans for their projects.

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Traffic-related air pollution

New research explores the impact of traffic-related air pollution on the development of asthma in children.

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Karolinska exchange program

AllerGen collaborates with the Swedish Karolinska Institutet to offer trainees international exchange opportunities.

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5^th Research Conference

AllerGen holds its fifth annual Research Conference, From Cell to Society⁵ in Québec City, QC.

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4^th Trainee Symposium, Poster Competition

AllerGen holds its fourth Trainee Symposium, Becoming Future Leaders: Challenges and Successes, in Montréal, Québec.

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Food allergy prevalence data

AllerGen's SCAALAR study provides the first food allergy prevalence data for Canada and influences food labelling regulations.

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Going Global Germany

AllerGen holds a collaborative workshop in Berlin and signs MOUs with two German institutions.

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Inaugural Café Scientifique

AllerGen hosts a public knowledge translation event: The Allergy and Asthma Epidemic: Can We Prevent or Cure it?

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Anaphylaxis registry

AllerGen's Cross-Canada Anaphylaxis REgistry (C-CARE) is launched as a Strategic Initiative led by Dr. Ann Clarke.

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Emerging Clinician-Scientist Fellowship

AllerGen launches the highest annual award value Fellowship to increase the number of Canadian clinician-scientists in allergy and clinical immunology.

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Success Stories share research breakthroughs

AllerGen publishes the first issue of Success Stories magazine to give Canadians information on new research into asthma, allergies and anaphylaxis.

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  $36.5 million renewal

  Following 18 months of consultation, reporting and strategic planning, the NCE renews AllerGen's funding to 2019. Read more

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  New international trainee program

  AllerGen launches the International Trainee Exchange Program. Read more

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  CHILD achieves recruitment goal

  The CHILD Study recruits 3,600 pregnant mothers, representing more than 10,000 participants. Read more

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  Awards for online anaphylaxis course

  The CSTD recognizes AllerGen and partners for How to C.A.R.E. for Students at Risk of Anaphylaxis: What Educators Need to Know. Read more

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  1^st Emerging Clinician-Scientist Fellowship awarded

  Dr. Moshe Ben-Shoshan is the inaugural winner of this prestigious fellowship. Read more

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  Integrated research strategy 2012-2019

  AllerGen's new Strategic Plan integrates its research programme into three Legacy Projects and three Enabling Platforms. Read more

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  7^th Research Conference

  AllerGen’s Seventh Research Conference, Innovation from cell to society⁷, is held in Toronto, ON. Read more

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  6^th Trainee Symposium

  Forty-four trainees participate in AllerGen's 6^th Trainee Symposium in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Read more

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  New Chairman of the Board

  Dr. Howard Bergman assumes the role of Board Chair upon the retirement from that position of Dr. Graham Scott. Read more

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  CHILD microbiome results

  Drs Meghan Azad and Anita Kozyrskyj find the infant gut microbiota is influenced by mode of delivery and infant diet. Read more

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  2^nd Emerging Clinician-Scientist Fellowship

  AllerGen awards its prestigious $250,000 Fellowship to Dr. Philippe Bégin. Read more

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  7^th Trainee Symposium

  Fifty-one trainees attend this professional development event in Calgary, Alberta. Read more

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  Aboriginal engagement

  Investigators complete studies aiming to provide First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities with asthma and allergy resources. Read more

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  Five Success Stories published

  AllerGen distributes its fifth issue of Success Stories magazine to over 1,200 Network participants, partners and knowledge users. Read more

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  2^nd Café Scientifique

  AllerGen hosts a Café Scientifique entitled Preventing children’s seasonal asthma spikes: What parents, teachers and the public need to know. Read more

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  NCE partnership for allergy testing

  AllerGen and the PROOF Centre join forces to develop tests for allergic asthma. Read more

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  Summer Studentships launched

  Ten undergraduate students receive Studentships in the program's first year. Read more

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  National strategy for asthma care

  Dr. Teresa To leads an effort to ensure uniform, high-quality asthma care across Canada. Read more

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  CIC expansion

  AllerGen's Clinical Investigator Collaborative (CIC) adds severe asthma and allergic rhinitis to its expertise. Read more

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  GET-FACTS launch

  This CIHR-supported initiative advances the KT goals of AllerGen's CanFAST Legacy Project. Read more

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  Asthma clinic in El Salvador

  Clinica del asma: Dr. Dean Befus opens in El Salvador's National Lung Hospital. Read more

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  Allergy Pals online

  Anaphylaxis Canada's peer-support program for food allergic kids is based on AllerGen research. Read more

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  1^st Scientific Meeting

  107 leading researchers and clinicians attend AllerGen’s first Network-wide Scientific Meeting. Read more

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  CHILD Study grant

  The CHILD Study receives a $1M, five-year CIHR operating grant. Read more

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  C-CARE recruitment

  AllerGen's anaphylaxis registry recruits its first 1,000 participants. Read more

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  CRRN partnership

  AllerGen supports the establishment of the Canadian Respiratory Research Network. Read more

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  Co-hosted poster competition

  AllerGen and CSACI co-host a trainee poster competition. Read more

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  8^th Trainee Symposium

  Over 50 trainees gather in Montreal, QC, for AllerGen's eighth Trainee Symposium. Read more

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  Food allergy in vulnerable populations

  CanFAST investigators publish results of the first survey to estimate the prevalence of food allergy among vulnerable Canadians. Read more

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  Air pollution sensors at Pan Am Games

  A device developed by AllerGen researchers monitors air pollution during the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. Read more

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  CIC discovery

  AllerGen's clinical trials consortium discovers that an antibody can reduce asthma symptoms. Read more

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  Air pollution and asthma risk

  CHILD data reveals relationship between early exposure to air pollution and increased allergy risk. Read more

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  Early-life environmental exposures

  CHILD researchers assess indoor and outdoor environmental exposures for 3,217 infants. Read more

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  AllerGen-Stanford collaboration

  AllerGen enables young scientists to train with a food allergy leader at Stanford University. Read more

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  HQP video competition

  AllerGen trainees compete to create engaging, accessible videos about their research. Read more

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  3^rd Emerging Clinician-Scientist Fellowship

  Dr. Marylin Desjardins becomes the third recipient of AllerGen's major fellowship award. Read more

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  Allergy and Asthma Portal

  AllerGen launches the world’s most comprehensive database of the genes, proteins, and pathways associated with allergic disease. Read more

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  2014 Poster Competition

  AllerGen trainee research is showcased at a clinically-oriented conference. Read more

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  2^nd Scientific Meeting

  Seventy-one participants report on research progress and work to collectively update the Network’s research priorities to 2019. Read more

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  9^th Trainee Symposium

  Fifty-one HQP attend this professional development event, which features a grant review panel workshop. Read more

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  Travel Awards Program growing

  AllerGen’s Travel Awards Program, the Network’s most highly subscribed HQP program, continuers to grow. Read more

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  NCE confirms AllerGen funding to 2019

  The NCE program approves the final three years of funding for AllerGen. Read more

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  4 gut bacteria protect against asthma

  CHILD data show that infants with low levels of four gut bacteria have a higher risk of developing asthma. Read more

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  Antibiotics in birth affect microbiome

  CHILD research finds antibiotic use during delivery associated with a microbial imbalance in the infant gut microbiota. Read more

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  Building a national food allergy strategy

  AllerGen food allergy researchers hold a national stakeholder consultation to discuss developing a national strategy. Read more

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  Legacy partnership funds Fellowship

  A partnership with CAAIF ensures ongoing support for AllerGen's Emerging Clinician-Scientist Fellowship. Read more

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  CHILD video wins CIHR competition

  CHILD's whiteboard video wins first place in CIHR's 2015 "IHDCYH Talks" competition. Read more

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  1^st webinar series

  AllerGen hosts a series of webinars on Planning for Research Success. Read more

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  10^th Trainee Symposium

  A decade after its first symposium, AllerGen welcomes 54 HQP back to Toronto for its tenth. Read more

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  New Board Chair, Assoc. Scientific Director

  Dr. Pieter Cullis becomes AllerGen's fourth Board Chair; Dr. Kelly McNagny becomes AllerGen's first Associate Scientific Director. Read more

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  4^th Emerging Clinician-Scientist Fellowship

  Dr. Catherine Biggs becomes the fourth Fellowship holder since the award's launch in 2011. Read more

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  Fruit and cognitive development

  CHILD research finds that one-year-olds perform better on IQ tests if their moms ate more fruit while pregnant. Read more

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  Artificial sweeteners and infant BMI

  CHILD data show that consuming artificial sweeteners while preganant may put infants at higher risk of obesity. Read more

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  CIHR grants $6M to CHILD

  Four projects using CHILD data receive 5-year, $2M grants from CIHR. Read more

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  AllerGen research changes library policy

  CanFAST research findings influence food policy in Markham public libraries. Read more

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  CANUE consortium launched

  A new pan-Canadian urban health research effort led by an AllerGen investigator will leverage CHILD data. Read more

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  C-CARE measures anaphylaxis rates in kids

  AllerGen's national registry finds anaphylaxis is increasing among children. Read more

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  AllerGen White Paper exposes CAM claims

  A study of over 400 "alternative medicine" clinics finds over half make unproven allergy/asthma claims. Read more

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  Late introduction, higher food allergy risk

  CHILD research shows that delaying the introduction of allergenic foods to infants may increase their risk of developing a food allergy later. Read more

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  New CHILD video on air pollution

  A new video explores the CHILD research finding that early exposure to traffic pollution increases one's allergy risk. Read more