The Division of Allergy and Immunology is actively engaged in basic and clinical research. The Allergy/Immunology Laboratory in the Children's Research Institute focuses on immune dysregulation, primary immunodeficiency diseases, inflammatory cytokines following exposure to marine toxins and studies of T cell responses to vaccines.

Translational and Basic Science Research in Immunology

Several faculty engage in translational and basic science research on the pathomechanisms, diagnostic and novel treatment strategies for immune dysregulation in primary immunodeficiencies.

Dr. Jolan Walter’s group focuses on T and B cell dysregulation and tolerance checkpoints in variants of severe combined immunodeficiencies (SCID) with mutation of the recombination activating gene (RAG) in human and animal studies. Translational studies include the genetics of autoimmune cytopenias and national genetic screen for WHIM (warts, hypogammaglobilinemia, infections and myelokathexis) syndrome. Our research team is committed to promote targeted therapies in primary immunodeficiencies and immune dysregulation and bone marrow transplant and gene therapy for variants of SCID and combined immunodeficiencies. 

Clinical Trials

Our Allergy & Immunology Division is actively engaged in a number of pharmaceutical Phase III and Phase IV clinical trails leading to FDA approval for new immunoglobulin produces (both IVIG and SCIg) or changes in packet insert labeling. Our Division is also involved with studies in food allergy research.

Recent Publications

• Donkó A, Sharapova SO, Kabat J, Ganesan S, Hauck F, Marois L, Abbott J, Moshous D, Williams KW, Campbell N, Martin PL, Lagresle-Peyrou C, Trojan TD, Kuzmenko N, Deordieva E, Raykina E, Abers MS, Abolhassani H, Barlogis V, Milla CCM, Hall G, Mousallem T, Church JA, Kapoor N, Cros G, Chapdelaine H, Franco-Jarava C, Lopez-Lerma I, Miano M, Leiding JW, Klein C, Stasia MJ, Fischer A, Hsiao KC, Martelius T, Seppänen MRJ, Barmettler S, Walter JE, Masmas TN, Mukhina A, Falcone EL, Kracker S, Shcherbina A, Holland SM, Leto TL, Hsu AP. Clinical and functional spectrum of RAC2-related immunodeficiency. Blood. 2024 Jan 9:blood.2023022098. doi: 10.1182/blood.2023022098. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38194689
  
  
•  Patel PK, Chinga ML, Yilmaz M, Joychan S, Ujhazi B, Ellison M, Gordon S, Nieves D, Csomos K, Eslin D, Afify ZA, Meznarich J, Bohnsack J, Walkovich K, Seidel MG, Sharapova S, Boyarchyk O, Latysheva E, Tuzankina I, Shaker AB, Ayala I, Sriaroon P, Westermann-Clark E, Walter JE. Clinical and Treatment History of Patients with Partial DiGeorge Syndrome and Autoimmune Cytopenia at Multiple Centers. J Clin Immunol. 2024 Jan 17;44(2):42. doi: 10.1007/s10875-023-01607-3.PMID: 38231436
  
  
• Wang C, Shi Y, Lim XR, Walter JE. The clinical spectrum of thymoma-associated immunodeficiency: Good syndrome and beyond. Eur J InternMed. 2024 Apr 13:S0953-6205(24)00160-2. doi: 10.1016/j.ejim.2024.04.006. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38616482 No abstract available.
  
  
• Nguyen MHN, Bruening R, Abel T, Lyons S, Denhardt B, Moore J, Sriaroon P, Hajirawala M, Kim AY. A 14-step desensitization protocol for sebelipase alfa hypersensitivity in a patient with Wolman disease and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2024 Apr;35(4):e14121. doi: 10.1111/pai.14121.PMID: 38572778 No abstract available.
  
  
• Katarina Zmajkovicova, Sumit Pawar, Svetlana O Sharapova, Christoph Bruno Geier, Ivana Wiest, Chi Nguyen, Halenya Monticelli, Sabine Maier-Munsa, Kelly Chen, John W Sleasman, Svetlana Aleshkevich, Ekaterina Polyakova, Inga Sakovich, Klaus Warnatz, Bodo Grimbacher, Michele Proietti, Neal Sondheimer, Boglarka Ujhazi, Sumai Gordon, Maryssa Ellison, Melis Yilmaz, Jolan E Walter, Adriana Badarau, Arthur G Taveras, Jadee L Neff, Jacob R Bledsoe, Teresa K Tarrant. A Novel Transmembrane CXCR4 Variant That Expands the WHIM Genotype-Phenotype Paradigm. Blood Adv. 2024 May 20: bloodadvances.2023011875. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2023011875. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38768429