Funding boost for study on early childhood allergies

A team of scientists led by Associate Professor Ashley St John from Duke-NUS’ Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme received a S$1 million award to investigate early childhood allergies. The project is one of three promising research projects awarded by the Tanoto Foundation Medical Research Fund, to propel it to the next stage.

The Fund formalises the Foundation’s commitment to medical research, Mr Bey Soo Khiang, Tanoto Foundation’s executive advisor, said in an interview with CNA. Through the Fund, the Foundation will disburse S$5 million every year to support medical research projects for a period of three years.

The hope is, said Mr Bey, that at the end of the funding period, the researchers “can look for more funding from the government to roll out their discoveries to the healthcare system either through a clinical trial or directly”.

For Assoc Prof St John and her two collaborators—Professors Florent Ginhoux from A*STAR and Jerry Chan from KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital—the award enables them to investigate whether the same connection they observed in a preclinical model back in 2020 exists in humans.

In 2020, the trio found that a mother’s allergic responses can be transferred to the offspring.

“This meant that after birth, the offspring could experience allergies to the same allergens that the mom had develop allergies to originally,” explained Assoc Prof St John, who was recently recognised with the National Research Foundation Investigatorship Award.

And human foetuses have all the necessary building blocks required to raise an allergic response even before birth. With this award, the team now hopes to determine whether the same holds true for mother-to-child transmission of allergies in early human life.

“Our study will look into that by following moms and their babies and detecting the development of allergic disease in early life,” said Assoc Prof St John.

With those insights, she and her collaborators hope that they can further advance efforts to develop new interventions to prevent the development of allergies.

Today, allergies affect up to one in three people, with many allergies—like food allergies—growing more common in many parts of the world including Southeast Asia. Allergies can range from mild symptoms such as sneezing, itchy eyes and a type of rash known as hives to life-threatening reactions, like swelling of the throat and constriction of the airways.

Professor Jerry Chan outlines the team’s project, on behalf of team lead Associate Professor Ashley St John // Credit: Courtesy of Joanne Lee, Duke-NUS

Some children develop signs of allergic responses the first time they are exposed to an allergen, suggesting that the immune system has received prior instruction that an innocuous substance, like pollen, dust mites or peanut proteins, should be treated as a threat.

Elaborating on her motivation, Assoc Prof St John, whose interest in allergies and how allergic reactions are triggered inspired her to become an immunologist, said: “Allergies are something that can greatly affect early life wellbeing and it’s an area where we need better treatments and interventions for children. The effects of allergies on children go beyond the immediate discomfort or attacks but can affect their sleep, learning, nutrition, and other aspects of childhood wellbeing.

“It always means a lot to have a project funded, but I think particularly knowing that the Tanoto Foundation saw the value of our project such that they were willing to give a donation gives a special feeling of encouragement.”

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Funding boost for study on early childhood allergies

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