Role of Peanut Allergen in Urban Schools and Preschools

描述（由申请人提供）：该提案详细介绍了一个五年计划，为候选人William Sheehan，MD提供知识和专业知识，成为过敏和免疫学领域的独立研究者。拟议的研究项目集中在一种新的策略，评估儿童环境中可检测的环境花生蛋白暴露量，如家庭，学校和学前班。最近有理论认为，在年轻时避免食物导致了食物过敏的增加，因为儿童反而因皮肤暴露于环境中的少量食物蛋白质而变得敏感。Sheehan博士介绍了初步数据，表明在学校和家庭中可检测到花生蛋白（Ara h 2）。候选人将使用他的导师Wanda Phipatanakul博士（目前由NIAID资助的名为“学校和内城哮喘研究”的研究）建立的基础设施;通过分析真空灰尘和桌子擦拭样品，进一步探索环境中花生蛋白的研究。除了评估家庭和学校外，还将评估为非常年幼的儿童提供服务的无花生幼儿园。此外，希恩博士将评估这种环境花生暴露对健康结果的影响。具体来说，他将研究暴露于环境花生蛋白对哮喘发病率的影响，特别关注被认为受这种皮肤暴露影响的风险最高的儿童。“风险”群体将 定义为具有以下任何一种病症的登记受试者：（1）花生过敏，（2）湿疹，或（3）聚丝蛋白基因突变。Sheehan博士将在Phipatanakul博士的指导下工作，Phipatanakul博士是环境暴露及其与过敏性疾病关系的专家。Sheehan博士还组建了一个由杰出研究人员组成的团队，包括Diane Gold博士、Raif Geha博士和布伦特库尔博士，他们投入了时间、资源和专业知识来促进他的职业发展和研究目标。在支持候选人期间，他将通过获得哈佛医学院临床科学计划学者的医学科学硕士学位（MMSC），从事临床研究的正规教育。该计划将为他提供先进的生物统计学，流行病学，临床研究设计，临床遗传学和科学写作的进一步技能。在他的主要导师和合作团队的指导下，在波士顿儿童医院理想的科学和临床环境中，研究项目和职业发展计划将使候选人能够获得独立的NIH资金，并将自己定位为环境食品暴露和过敏性疾病领域的独立临床研究人员，这是一个相对被忽视的调查领域。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal details a five-year plan to provide the candidate, William Sheehan, MD, with the knowledge and expertise to become an independent investigator in the field of Allergy and Immunology. The proposed research project is centered on a novel strategy of evaluating the amount of detectable environmental peanut protein exposure in childhood environments, such as homes, schools, and preschools. It has recently been theorized that avoidance of foods at a young age has contributed to the rise in food allergies, because children were instead becoming sensitized by cutaneous exposure to small amounts of food proteins in the environment. Dr. Sheehan presents preliminary data demonstrating detectable amounts of peanut protein (Ara h 2) in schools and homes. The candidate will use the established infrastructure of his mentor, Dr. Wanda Phipatanakul (current NIAID-funded study entitled School and Inner City Asthma Study); to further explore the study of peanut protein in the environment by analyzing vacuumed dust and table wipe samples. In addition to evaluating homes and schools, peanut-free preschools serving very young children will also be evaluated. Additionally, Dr. Sheehan will evaluate the effect of this environmental peanut exposure on health outcomes. Specifically, he will investigate the effect of exposure to environmental peanut protein on asthma morbidity with a particular focus on children considered to be at the highest risk of being affected by this cutaneous exposure. The "at risk" group will be defined by an enrolled subject with any one of the following conditions: (1) peanut allergy, (2) eczema, or (3) filaggrin gene mutation. Dr. Sheehan will work under the mentorship of Dr. Phipatanakul, an expert in environmental exposures and the relationship with allergic diseases. Dr. Sheehan has also assembled a team of extraordinary researchers, including Drs. Diane Gold, Raif Geha, and Brent Coull, who have committed their time, resources, and expertise to facilitate his career development and research goals. During the period of support for the candidate, he will engage in formal education on clinical research by obtaining a Master of Medical Sciences (MMSc) degree from the Scholars in Clinical Science Program at Harvard Medical School. This program will provide him with further skills in advanced biostatistics, epidemiology, clinical study design, clinical genetics, and scientific writing. Under the guidance of his primary mentor and collaborative team, in an ideal scientific and clinical environment at Boston Children's Hospital, the research project and career development plan will position the candidate to secure independent NIH funding and to establish himself as an independent clinical researcher in the field of environmental food exposures and allergic diseases, a relatively neglected area of investigation.