FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) has announced a $2.5 million investment from the National Peanut Board (NPB) to support research aimed at finding a cure for food allergies. The funding will be allocated over five years and will back FARE's Mind Meld initiative, which uses a collaborative research model to speed up scientific progress.
The Mind Meld approach was developed by FARE CEO Sung Poblete during her time leading Stand Up To Cancer. The method focuses on bringing together experts in immunology to find ways to retrain the immune system so it does not react negatively to food proteins and carbohydrates.
"Food allergy is a serious, life-threatening disease of the immune system that impacts more than 33 million people in the United States," said Dr. Poblete. "By bringing together the leading scientists in immunology, Mind Meld is designed to identify pathways to retrain the immune system, so it no longer attacks food proteins and carbohydrates, recognizing them for what they are. In many ways, this work builds on and reverse engineers advances made in cancer research, and we believe it will lead to a cure for food allergy."
The National Peanut Board has been involved in efforts related to peanut allergy for over twenty years, having invested more than $43 million in related research and education. This latest contribution is intended to encourage other organizations within the food sector to join collaborative efforts with FARE.
"We have already seen the impact we can have on big breakthroughs such as evidence-based Early Introduction practices," said Ryan Lepicier, president and CEO of National Peanut Board. "Now we see an opportunity to advance the level of breakthroughs in food allergy, joining a larger collaborative model with FARE's Mind Meld initiative, we hope that other commodity organizations and partners across the food system will share this vision and join us in advancing this important work."
Later this year, FARE plans to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for new research projects funded through this initiative.
The National Peanut Board represents peanut farmers across the United States and works on research and marketing projects aimed at increasing demand for USA-grown peanuts.
