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New network sets to work investigating causes of – and therapies for – allergic/immune diseases that affect up to 40% of Canadians. It will also address the critical shortage of allergy experts across the country.

Given the range of expertise required, organizing the Allergy, Genes and Environment Network (AllerGen) was no easy task.

"For the past three years, we've had researchers meet from all across the country and from very different backgrounds," says Dr. Judah Denburg, AllerGen's CEO and Scientific Director. "Now, we have them all on the same page."

Dr. Denburg, Director of the Clinical Immunology and Allergy Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University, has brought together more than 100 researchers at 20 universities and research facilities, along with more than 70 national and international partners. He has recruited leaders in the fields of epidemiology, population health, immunology, biology, genetics, and social sciences to form AllerGen.

"We were networking from the starting gate," Dr. Denburg says.

As it begins its work, AllerGen has already formed partnerships with Environment Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Heath Research (CIHR) and its Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health, and the National Research Council.

Research projects are grouped in five broad-based themes that reflect the "from cell to society" approach the network is taking to better understand and deal with allergies and asthma:

• Theme I examines the interaction of early-life events and environmental exposures that may impart susceptibility to allergies. The potential outcome of this work is the development of allergy/asthma "gene chips."
• Theme II focuses on food, water and air quality and their effects on mothers and infants, families and special Canadian populations, including Aboriginal communities. This could lead to developing bio-analytic tests for airborne pollutants and allergens, and new hypo-allergenic food products.
• Theme III researchers will investigate biological mechanisms to aid the development of new diagnostic aids.
• Theme IV comprises unique therapeutic and drug discovery programs for new allergy, asthma and anaphylaxis medications for clinical use. This will be done in partnership with the biopharmaceutical and biotechnological industries.
• Theme V involves research to integrate knowledge of allergies, especially in schools and the workplace, towards the development of specific preventive and control measures, leading to significant public policy debate and change.

"The NCE has given us the glue to bond this network, bringing clinicians together with scientists to study not just whether a drug works, but how it works," says Dr. Denburg. "This will also lead to testing for new drugs in the future."

AllerGen also will stress education and training, setting aside funds to match monies available for strategic training initiatives through the CIHR. "We don't have enough trainees in clinical fields and the long waiting lists (of patients) show a critical shortage of allergists in the country," says Dr. Denburg.

Only five out of 16 medical schools in Canada have training programs for doctors to study allergies, while studies show up to 40% of Canadians are affected by allergies. Specific training programs are available in select cities nationwide, but there is a clear need to create a hub where centres can share innovative research and allergy information.

AllerGen is bringing the leaders of these specific programs together and offering additional trainees for specific programs for students studying allergies. By creating 100 new research trainee positions, AllerGen plans to double the number of highly qualified clinical specialists and research scientists currently in the field.

"Investing in training will allow us to involve more students and more researchers in future AllerGen projects," Dr. Denburg says.

Dr. Denburg is enthusiastic about collaborating with other specialists; his own research has led him to believe allergies and asthma affect the entire body and treatment, therefore, should involve a variety of experts with different approaches to understanding science.

"There is a tremendous amount of interest in allergies," he says. "This is seen in the large amount of networking already done by AllerGen and projects already underway by eager scientists who have yet to receive funding."

www.allergen-nce.ca