Six new CFAR PhD Scholars announced

Published

Thursday, December 12, 2024 - 9:00 AM

The Centre of Food Allergy Research is proud to announce six PhD scholarships have been awarded to support the next generation of food allergy researchers.

Their projects cover an array of important topics from oral immunotherapy remission factors, to the link between air pollution and food allergy, to cross-reactive allergens in shellfish and dust mite-sensitised patients.

The scholars are supervised by CFAR investigators and receive financial support to attend NACE-CFAR training opportunities, priority access to competitive Travel Grants for domestic and international conferences, and free registration for the annual ASCIA Conference CFAR Symposium (up to three times during their candidature).

Ping Tang, The University of Melbourne 

• Project: Factors affecting the likelihood of remission following peanut oral immunotherapy: Five-year follow-up study.
• Supervisor: Prof Mimi Tang. (Full 3 years)

Sophie Hughes, University of Western Australia

• Project: Maternal characteristics that influence the presence of food allergens in breast milk.
• Supervisors: A/Prof Debbie Palmer, Prof Donna Geddes. (Top up 3 years)

Dr Preyanit Takkinsatian, The University of Melbourne

• Project: The impact of air pollution exposure on the development, persistence and severity of food allergy.
• Supervisors: A/Prof Rachel Peters, A/Prof Adrian Lowe. (Top up 3 years)

Miranda Starr, The University of Melbourne

• Project: The influence of vitamin D and hygiene measures on infection and allergy within the first year of life.
• Supervisors: Prof Kirsten Perrett, A/Prof Jennifer Koplin (Top up 3 years)

Emily Jerry, James Cook University

• Project: Profiling and identifying clinically cross-reactive allergens in shellfish and dust mite-sensitised patients.
• Supervisors: Prof Andreas Lopata, Dr Thimo Reuthers (Top up 2 years)

Sahel Heidari, James Cook University

• Project: Identifying clinically relevant allergens from crustaceans for better diagnosis and immunotherapy.
• Supervisors: Prof Andreas Lopata, Dr Thimo Reuthers (Top up 2 years)

CFAR has supported a number of PhD candidates since 2013, ensuring Australia remains at the forefront of food allergy research.