The Jaffe Food Allergy Institute was established in 1997 by an endowment gift from the Jaffe Family Foundation. The mission of the Institute is to expand and improve basic science and clinical research, comprehensive patient care, and educational efforts in the field of food allergy. The Institute is directed by Hugh A. Sampson, M.D., internationally recognized allergist and investigator of food allergy. The Institute:

• conducts basic science and clinical research activities related to food allergic disorders;
• provides comprehensive clinical care for food allergy patients;
• conducts educational programs related to food allergic disorders for physicians, other health care professionals, patients, families, and the general public; and,
• develops or collaborates on additional programs including publications, symposia, patient education programs, and curriculum development and testing for health care professionals including nurses, primary care physicians, and allergists.

Researchers at the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute are performing cutting-edge research in virtually every facet of food-allergic disorders. In the clinical realm, studies are ongoing to characterize the clinical features of a growing spectrum of food allergic disease, to understand why food allergy is increasing, and to determine better methods to diagnose, treat, and hopefully prevent these disorders.

Numerous cutting-edge laboratory research studies using the most modern techniques available are aimed at expanding our knowledge about immune mechanisms in food allergy and molecular characteristics of food allergens.

By combining a world-class clinical research program with an equally strong laboratory-based one, the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute is uniquely able to move ideas and investigations between the laboratory bench and the patient’s bedside in order to approach these disorders as efficiently and creatively as possible. The major goal is to devise more definitive, hopefully curative, therapies for food allergic disease.