All posts by Mary Jo Strobel

Recipient Announced for the 2018 Hope APFED HOPE Pilot Grant Award

Press Releases, What's New

Funded study to define the consequences and mechanisms of mucosal mast cell activation in the esophagus

Contacts: Mary Jo Strobel, Executive Director, (713) 493-7749, mjstrobel@apfed.org

ATLANTA, GA —The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) is pleased to announce that it has awarded a 2018 HOPE Pilot Grant Award to Dr. Joshua B. Wechsler, Assistant Professor in Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Attending Physician, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

Dr. Wechsler will receive $100,000 from APFED over a two-year period to carry out his award-winning research proposal. His project is entitled “Defining Mast Cell Phenotype, Activation Pathways and Cellular Interactions that Drive Chronic Symptoms and Endoscopic Changes in Eosinophilic Esophagitis.”

With this grant, Dr. Wechsler seeks to understand the role of esophageal mast cell activation in EoE symptoms, along with endoscopic abnormalities in EoE and the effect of treatment. His work will analyze novel pathways in individual mast cells from a biopsy, to determine factors that drive persistent endoscopic abnormalities. He will also define interactions of mast cells and their mediators with the structural epithelial cell, relevant to what is seen in the biopsy.

This project will help uncover fundamental aspects of mucosal mast cells signaling and cellular interactions critical to driving clinical phenotype in EoE, which could in turn contribute to novel therapies to improve treatment response.

“APFED’s HOPE Pilot grants are selected through a competitive peer-reviewed process,” APFED President Dr. Wendy Book explains. “Applicants are asked to submit a novel research idea that shows promise and conforms to the APFED mission to improve the lives of those living with eosinophil-associated diseases. These proposals are then reviewed and scored by an ad-hoc panels of expert reviewers, which guides us as we select the most impactful projects with innovative ideas to fund. Successful grantees demonstrate a plan and the potential to receive subsequent, larger funding for their project.”

“This work seeks to improve patient care by delving into critical pathways at play between individual mucosal mast cells and the epithelium,” said Dr. Wechsler. “We believe these interactions are key to ongoing endoscopic and histologic abnormalities in a subset of patients with EoE. This award will greatly facilitate the success of my research career and help me achieve extramural funding.”

 To learn more about APFED’s HOPE on the Horizon Research Program and projects that have been awarded since the program’s inception in 2005, please visit apfed.org.

About APFED

American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) is a non-profit organization dedicated to patients and their families coping with eosinophilic disorders. APFED’s mission is to passionately embrace, support, and improve the lives of patients and families affected by eosinophil-associated diseases through education and awareness, research, support, and advocacy.

Upcoming events include National Eosinophil Awareness Week, May 20-26, 2018, and Eos Connection 2018: APFED’s 16 Annual Patient Education Conference, July 6-7, 2018 in Denver. Learn more at apfed.org.

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Show the LOVE During NEAW 2018!

APFED Blog, Uncategorized, What's New

Join us for APFED’s #EndEos #WithLove campaign on Facebook! It’s east to create a Facebook fundraiser on APFED’s fundraising platform and share your story of love with supporters to spread Eos awareness and raise funds for APFED’s HOPE on the Horizon Research Program!

This is a great opportunity to honor or remember a loved one impacted by eosinophil-associated disorders (EAD). This campaign leads up to National Eosinophil Awareness Week on May 20-26, 2018!

Sample Appeal for an Facebook Fundraiser

I choose to support APFED’s Love Campaign because I love someone with an eosinophil-associated disease. Will you support me? Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to APFED through my Facebook fundraiser. The process is fast, easy, and secure. Thank you in advance for your support! Please share my page with your Facebook community.

Our Story:

About EAD:

#EndEos #WithLove

Have you seen our other new way to show your support during #NEAW2018?

Adding our new NEAW Frame to your profile photo on Facebook is a simple way to increase awareness. Just follow this link and use the “search” box to find “NEAW Frame 2018.”

RE-TREAD: Revisiting the NIH Taskforce on the Research needs of Eosinophil-Associated Diseases

Announcements, What's New

Today, an important review paper was published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. The publication, titled “Revisiting the NIH Taskforce on the Research needs of Eosinophil-Associated Diseases (RE-TREAD)”, is a progress report on the unmet needs of our patient community.

APFED has long advocated for federal research priority for eosinophil-associated diseases and supported related efforts. Six years ago, we actively planned a meeting with NIH and the Office for Disease Prevention which became known as the “Taskforce on the Research Needs of Eosinophil Associated Diseases (TREAD) Workshop”. This task force, comprised of experts from various specialties that treat these diseases, such as allergy, gastroenterology, pathology, and others, was charged with proposing and prioritizing unmet research needs for eosinophil-associated diseases. Shortly after, APFED co-authored a pivotal paper that is known as “the TREAD document.” This report highlighted the areas of need for eosinophil disease research to guide the distribution of funds as they became available.

In summer 2017, a taskforce assembled once again at the International Eosinophil Society (IES) Symposium to review the state of current progress in research and resources and to compare it to unmet needs today. Kathleen Sable, APFED Board Member, traveled to Sweden to participate as a taskforce member, contributing to the discussion and presenting the need for new medical codes for subsets of eosinophil-associated diseases that currently do not have them. Kathleen also worked to co-author the recent paper in Journal of Leukocyte Biology. The paper provides a review of the meeting and states:

“RE‐TREAD focused on gaps in basic science, translational, and clinical research on eosinophils and eosinophil‐related pathogenesis. Improved recapitulation of human eosinophil biology and pathogenesis in murine models was felt to be of importance. Characterization of eosinophil phenotypes, the role of eosinophil subsets in tissues, identification of biomarkers of eosinophil activation and tissue load, and a better understanding of the role of eosinophils in human disease were prioritized. Finally, an unmet need for tools for use in clinical trials was emphasized. Histopathologic scoring, patient‐ and clinician‐reported outcomes, and appropriate coding were deemed of paramount importance for research collaborations, drug development, and approval by regulatory agencies. Further exploration of the eosinophil genome, epigenome, and proteome was also encouraged.”

APFED is committed to serving in both active and supporting roles to see that progress continues until the unmet needs of our community are resolved. We look forward to continued contributions to the field.

2018 Hope APFED/AAAAI Pilot Grant Award Recipient Announced

Press Releases, What's New

Funded study to look at effects of proton pump inhibitor treatment on genes associated with eosinophilic esophagitis

Contacts: Mary Jo Strobel, Executive Director, (713) 493-7749, mjstrobel@apfed.org

ATLANTA, GA — The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) are pleased to announce the recipient of their 2018 Hope APFED/AAAAI Pilot Grant Award for research in eosinophil-associated diseases (EADs).

Mirna Chehade, MD, MPH from the Mount Sinai Center for Eosinophilic Disorders, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has been selected to receive funding for her promising work on the effects of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy on genes associated with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE).

The award was announced at the Joint Congress of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the World Allergy Organization, held on March 2–5 in Orlando, FL. Dr. Chehade’s project entitled “Impact of Proton Pump Inhibitors on the Esophageal Transcriptome in Eosinophilic Esophagitis Subtypes” will receive funding of $70,000 per year for two years (a total of $140,000). The grant award is co-funded equally between APFED and AAAAI.

Dr. Chehade and her team will research the effects of proton pump inhibitor treatment on the EoE transcriptome in an attempt to identify EoE from PPI-responsive esophageal eosinophilia. Addressing this important issue may provide new insights into the how EoE-associated genes are suppressed with PPI therapy. Identification of transcriptome markers of PPI responsiveness would have a high impact in the clinical setting.

Established in 2013, the Hope APFED/AAAAI Pilot Grant Award is the result of a collaborative effort between APFED and AAAAI to enable investigators from a variety of disciplines to initiate projects relevant to eosinophil-associated diseases, with a focus on the development of new and inventive ideas that are likely to lead to future external funding and better patient outcomes.

“In the five years since its founding, the Hope APFED/AAAAI Pilot Award has supported projects aimed at better understanding the underlying causes of EADs and finding new and effective treatments for these disorders,” said APFED Executive Director Mary Jo Strobel. “APFED is excited to once again partner with AAAAI to fund this research study by Dr. Chehade, which has the potential to result in improved and targeted treatment options for our community.”

“I’m honored to receive this award and am grateful to APFED and AAAAI for the opportunity to pursue this research,” Dr. Chehade said. “Through this grant, I hope to better understand which patients might benefit from PPI therapy, and therefore reduce some of the trial and error treatment approaches we currently follow in eosinophilic esophagitis. This project will help pave the way for personalized medicine for patients suffering from EoE.”

Donations to APFED’s HOPE on the Horizon Research Program has enabled the organization to contribute more than $2 million for the research of eosinophil-associated diseases since the fund began in 2005.

About the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED)
The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to passionately embrace, support, and improve the lives of patients and families affected by eosinophil-associated diseases through education and awareness, research, support, and advocacy. www.apfed.org

About the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI)
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) represents allergists, asthma specialists, clinical immunologists, allied health professionals and others with a special interest in the research and treatment of allergic and immunologic diseases. Established in 1943, the AAAAI has more than 7,000 members in the United States, Canada and 72 other countries. The AAAAI’s Find an Allergist/Immunologist service is a trusted resource to help you find a specialist close to home.

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2018 AAAAI/APFED Best Abstract on EGIDs Awards Recipients Announced

Press Releases, Uncategorized, What's New

Researchers recognized for best-scoring abstracts focusing on eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease

ATLANTA, GA — The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) announced today the two recipients of the 2018 AAAAI/APFED Best Abstract on EGIDs Awards. To recognize outstanding research abstracts on eosinophil-associated gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs) presented at the Joint Congress of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) and the World Allergy Organization, APFED funded a $750 award both to the best-scoring abstract by a Fellow-in-Training and by a Member.

The awards are intended to help defray travel costs to the meeting so that the researchers may present their findings to their peers. Abstract award winners may go on to successfully compete for grants from APFED or from other funding mechanisms.

The 2018 AAAAI/APFED Best Abstracts on EGIDs recipients are Peter S. Capucilli, MD (Fellow-in-Training), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, for his abstract entitled “A Comparison of Comorbid Diagnoses in Children with and without Eosinophilic Esophagitis in a Large Primary Care Population,” and Ichiro Nomura, MD (Member), National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, for his abstract entitled “Elevated Serum TSLP, IL-33, 6Ckine and MCP-3 Levels in School Children or Older Patients with Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis.”

The awards were made possible thanks to the generous donations to APFED’s HOPE on the Horizon Research Program, which has enabled the organization to contribute more than $2 million for the research of eosinophil-associated diseases since the fund began in 2005.

 

About the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED)
The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to passionately embrace, support, and improve the lives of patients and families affected by eosinophil-associated diseases through education and awareness, research, support, and advocacy. www.apfed.org

About the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI)
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) represents allergists, asthma specialists, clinical immunologists, allied health professionals and others with a special interest in the research and treatment of allergic and immunologic diseases. Established in 1943, the AAAAI has more than 7,000 members in the United States, Canada and 72 other countries. The AAAAI’s Find an Allergist/Immunologist service is a trusted resource to help you find a specialist close to home.

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