Nutrition in Pediatric Allergy Disorders

The role of early allergen introduction – what the research says
This presentation will describe the most up to date evidence on what we know - and what we don't - around food allergy prevention.

Elissa Abrams, MD, FRCPC, FAAAAI, MPH
University of Manitoba

Dr. Elissa Abrams is a Medical Specialist at the Public Health Agency of Canada and a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Section of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of Manitoba. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Abrams is the current President of the Allergy Section of the Canadian Pediatric Society and a Board Member of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Her work focuses on advancing clinical care, education, and research in pediatric allergy and immunology at both the national and international levels.

Identifying food allergies in childrenIn this session we will describe key symptoms and diagnostic approaches for common pediatric food allergies.

Julia Upton, MD MPH FRCPC
Hospital for Sick Children

Dr. Upton is a Clinical Immunologist and Allergist at The Hospital for Sick Children, Professor at the University of Toronto, and the Medical Director of the SickKids Clinical Research Center.  She is an elected Board of Director of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and on the Healthcare Advisory board of Food Allergy Canada.  She graduated from Western University Medical school, completed residency at McMaster University, Clinical Immunology and Allergy fellowship at the University of Toronto, and a Master’s in Public Health at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. Her clinical practice focuses on both clinical immunodeficiency and allergy.  She is especially focussed on allergy diagnostics and food allergy desensitization therapies.

Food allergy management and treatment
By the end of this presentation, the audience should be able to: Articulate at least three daily management strategies for food allergy; Identify allergens, including priority and emerging allergens, on a Canadian food label; Discuss the need for prompt treatment of anaphylaxis.

Jennifer LP Protudjer PhD FAAAAI
University of Manitoba

Dr. Jennifer Protudjer PhD FAAAAI is the Endowed Research Chair in Allergy, Asthma and the Environment; and, an associate professor, the Associate Director – Research; and Director, Pediatric Graduate Program, in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba; a research scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba; Section Head, Allied Health, and, Co-Lead of the Research Pillar, for the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology; and, sits on the steering committee for Canada’s National Food Allergy Action Plan. She also holds an adjunct professorship in the Department of Foods and Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba; and, and is an affiliated researcher at the Karolinska Institutet, in Stockholm, Sweden, where she completed two post-doctoral fellowships. Her primary research interests include environmental risk factors for, and societal consequences of allergic disease, using both quantitative and qualitative methods.