This year AIFA grants have drawn interest and collaborations from researchers all over Australia. Expressions of Interest submitted covered topics as varied as immunotherapy for urticaria, insect allergy, drug allergy and how primary immunodeficiencies affect the immune system.

Our Grant Selection Panel has been working hard assessing the projects. They consider how the research will be done and the likelihood of achieving real clinical outcomes for patients. The panel strongly believe in encouraging collaborations across states and institutions. We are now down to a shortlist of 6 projects for the two grants available this year.

We are proud to announce that the AusPollen project has been awarded $626,442 in the latest round of NHMRC Partnership Project grants with a further $653,129 in partner organisation in kind and cash support. AusPollen, the Australian Pollen Allergen Partnership, will build, implement and evaluate the first standardised national pollen monitoring network.

Grass pollen is the main outdoor trigger for allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and allergic asthma. This project seeks to improve the management of people with these common conditions, by delivering pollen alerts and healthcare information via websites and apps.

The AIFA team is raising money for allergy research by walking 14km from the centre of Sydney to Bondi Beach during the annual City2Surf.

If you want to run you are welcome to set up a break away group!

The first step is to pay for registration to enter the walk at www.city2surf.com.au.

Then join the team by setting up a supporters page with Everyday Hero under Michelle Haskard's Walk for Allergy Research team page.

Share on social media or by email with your network to help spread the word.

There is a free cap for all participants.

Find out about Michelle's friend John and more at:  

https://city2surf2016.everydayhero.com/au/team-aifa

Recently published studies do not support the delayed introduction of potentially allergenic foods nor the use of partially hydrolysed formula for allergy prevention in infants.
ASCIA Guidelines for infant feeding and allergy prevention and information on how to introduce solid foods to infants were released on 18 May 2016 on the ASCIA website:
www.allergy.org.au/patients/allergy-prevention 

These documents reflect the findings of recent studies and combine the information from the previous ASCIA Infant Feeding Advice and ASCIA Guidelines for Allergy Prevention.

The Guidelines also include 3 revised recommendations, based on a consensus agreement by participants in the Centre for Food & Allergy Research (CFAR) Infant Feeding Guidelines Summit, hosted by Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) on Friday 13th May 2016.

This Summit resulted in consensus, as reported in Health Matters:
www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/new-recommendations-for-infant-feeding/7417846 

Early recognition of primary immunodeficiency (PID) is vital as early referral to a specialist improves management of disease. A new e-training course for health professionals has been released by ASCIA that aims to increase awareness of PID amongst general practitioners, paediatricians and general physicians.
www.allergy.org.au/hp/hp-e-training 

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is the most serious form of primary immunodeficiency and is usually diagnosed in early infancy. It is a rare disorder, thought to affect less than ten Australian children born each year.

Primary immune deficiencies, such as SCID, are caused bydefects in cells of the immune system. This contrasts with secondary immunodeficiency diseases such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

SCID is usually an inherited disorder. Babies are still dying in Australia from SCID. If diagnosed and their bone marrow transplanted within the first 3 months of life, a child has a 95% chance of survival.

Newborn screening for SCID will prevent infant deaths from undiagnosed SCID and also enable the potential diagnosis of other primary immune deficiencies. The Immune Deficiencies Foundation of Australia is campaigning for newborn screening for SCID.
www.idfa.org.au

Sjögrens syndrome is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the lacrimal and salivary glands decreasing the production of tears, saliva and moisture production in the body. This causes the most common symptoms of Sjögrens syndrome, namely dryness of the eyes and mouth. Sjögren's is one of the most prevalent autoimmune disorders, striking as many as 1 in 200 Australians. 9 out of 10 patients are women. Symptoms can plateau, worsen, or go into remission. While some people experience mild symptoms, others suffer debilitating symptoms that greatly impair their quality of life.

The Autoimmune Resource & Research Centre recently held a seminar on Sjogrens. A film of the seminar, presented by Associate Professor Glenn Reeves, can be viewed for a small fee at www.autoimmune.org.au 

www.allergy.org.au/patients/autoimmunity/autoimmune-diseases