Allergy and Immunology Research

The Henry Ford Center for Allergy, Asthma Immunology Research (CAAIR), a collaborative effort between the Henry Ford Division of Allergy and Immunology and the Henry Ford Department of Public Health Sciences has focused on federally funded observational studies of the natural history and identifying potential primary prevention strategies of allergic disorders including food allergy, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and asthma for over 30 years.

The Division of Allergy and Immunology also routinely participates in clinical trials for allergy and asthma related disorders.

2022 Cohort and Clinical Trial Research Projects

Henry Ford Ongoing Birth Cohort Studies

• Childhood Allergy Study (CAS – initiated 1987)
• Wayne Health and Allergy Longitudinal Study (WHEALS - initiated 2005)
• Microbes, Allergy, Asthma Precision Prevention (MAAP- initiated 2014)
• Research Enterprise to Advance Children's Health & Study of Allergic Asthma Risk (REACH and STAR - initiated in 2021)

Collaborative federally funded observational studies

• Childhood Allergy and the Neonatal Environment (CANOE)
• Systems Biology of Early Atopy (SUNBEAM)
• Human Epidemiology and Response to SARS-COV-2 (HEROS)

Clinical trials

• Investigating Dupilumab’s Effect in Asthma by genotype (IDEA)
• Systemic Allergic Reactions to SARS-COV-2 vaccination (SARS VACCINATION)

Recent Henry Ford Center for Asthma, Allergy and Immunology Research (CAAIR) Staff publications

African-specific alleles modify risk for asthma at the 17q12-q21 locus in African Americans.
Washington C 3rd, Dapas M, Biddanda A, Magnaye KM, Aneas I, Helling BA, Szczesny B, Boorgula MP, Taub MA, Kenny E, Mathias RA, Barnes KC; CAAPA, Khurana Hershey GK, Kercsmar CM, Gereige JD, Makhija M, Gruchalla RS, Gill MA, Liu AH, Rastogi D, Busse W, Gergen PJ, Visness CM, Gold DR, Hartert T, Johnson CC, Lemanske RF Jr, Martinez FD, Miller RL, Ownby D, Seroogy CM, Wright AL, Zoratti EM, Bacharier LB, Kattan M, O'Connor GT, Wood RA, Nobrega MA, Altman MC, Jackson DJ, Gern JE, McKennan CG, Ober C.
Genome Med. 2022 Sep 29;14(1):112. doi: 10.1186/s13073-022-01114-PMID: 36175932

Race is a modifier between parental allergy and food allergy in offspring.
Eapen AA, Ridley E, Sitarik AR, Joseph C, Nageotte C, Misiak R, Ownby D, Johnson C, Zoratti E, Kim H.
Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2022 Aug;33(8):e13840. doi: 10.1111/pai.13840.
PMID: 36003044

Heritable vaginal bacteria influence immune tolerance and relate to early-life markers of allergic sensitization in infancy.
McCauley KE, Rackaityte E, LaMere B, Fadrosh DW, Fujimura KE, Panzer AR, Lin DL, Lynch KV, Halkias J, Mendoza VF, Burt TD, Bendixsen C, Barnes K, Kim H, Jones K, Ownby DR, Johnson CC, Seroogy CM, Gern JE, Boushey HA, Lynch SV; ECHO Children’s Respiratory and Environmental Workgroup.
Cell Resp Med. 2022 Aug 16;3(8):100713. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100713. PMID: 35932762

Childhood Asthma Incidence, Early and Persistent Wheeze, and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Factors in the ECHO/CREW Consortium.
Zanobetti A, Ryan PH, Coull B, Brokamp C, Datta S, Blossom J, Lothrop N, Miller RL, Beamer PI, Visness CM, Andrews H, Bacharier LB, Hartert T, Johnson CC, Ownby D, Khurana Hershey GK, Joseph C, Yiqiang S, Mendonça EA, Jackson DJ, Luttmann-Gibson H, Zoratti EM, Wright AL, Martinez FD, Seroogy CM, Gern JE, Gold DR; Children’s Respiratory and Environmental Workgroup (CREW) Consortium
.JAMA Pediatr. 2022 Aug 1;176(8):759-767. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.1446.
PMID: 35604671

Risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in households with children with asthma and allergy: A prospective surveillance study.
Seibold MA, Moore CM, Everman JL, Williams BJM, Nolin JD, Fairbanks-Mahnke A, Plender EG, Patel BB, Arbes SJ, Bacharier LB, Bendixsen CG, Calatroni A, Camargo CA Jr, Dupont WD, Furuta GT, Gebretsadik T, Gruchalla RS, Gupta RS, Khurana Hershey GK, Murrison LB, Jackson DJ, Johnson CC, Kattan M, Liu AH, Lussier SJ, O'Connor GT, Rivera-Spoljaric K, Phipatanakul W, Rothenberg ME, Seroogy CM, Teach SJ, Zoratti EM, Togias A, Fulkerson PC, Hartert TV; HEROS study team.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2022 Aug;150(2):302-311. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2022.05.014. PMID: 35660376

Mepolizumab for urban children with exacerbation-prone eosinophilic asthma in the USA (MUPPITS-2): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial.
Jackson DJ, Bacharier LB, Gergen PJ, Gagalis L, Calatroni A, Wellford S, Gill MA, Stokes J, Liu AH, Gruchalla RS, Cohen RT, Makhija M, Khurana Hershey GK, O'Connor GT, Pongracic JA, Sherenian MG, Rivera-Spoljaric K, Zoratti EM, Teach SJ, Kattan M, Dutmer CM, Kim H, Lamm C, Sheehan WJ, Segnitz RM, Dill-McFarland KA, Visness CM, Becker PM, Gern JE, Sorkness CA, Busse WW, Altman MC; US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease's Inner City Asthma Consortium.
Lancet. 2022 Aug 13;400(10351):502-511. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01198-9.
PMID: 35964610

Seasonal airway microbiome and transcriptome interactions promote childhood asthma exacerbations.
McCauley KE, Flynn K, Calatroni A, DiMassa V, LaMere B, Fadrosh DW, Lynch KV, Gill MA, Pongracic JA, Khurana Hershey GK, Kercsmar CM, Liu AH, Johnson CC, Kim H, Kattan M, O'Connor GT, Bacharier LB, Teach SJ, Gergen PJ, Wheatley LM, Togias A, LeBeau P, Presnell S, Boushey HA, Busse WW, Gern JE, Jackson DJ, Altman MC, Lynch SV; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases–sponsored Inner-City Asthma Consortium.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2022 Jul;150(1):204-213. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2022.01.020.
PMID: 35149044

Epigenetic and transcriptional dysregulation in CD4+ T cells in patients with atopic dermatitis.
Eapen AA, Parameswaran S, Forney C, Edsall LE, Miller D, Donmez O, Dunn K, Lu X, Granitto M, Rowden H, Magier AZ, Pujato M, Chen X, Kaufman K, Bernstein DI, Devonshire AL, Rothenberg ME, Weirauch MT, Kottyan LC.
PLoS Genet. 2022 May 16;18(5):e1009973. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009973. eCollection 2022 May.
PMID: 35576187

Association of mold levels in urban children's homes with difficult-to-control asthma.
Vesper S, Wymer L, Kroner J, Pongracic JA, Zoratti EM, Little FF, Wood RA, Kercsmar CM, Gruchalla RS, Gill MA, Kattan M, Teach SJ, Patel S, Johnson CC, Bacharier LB, Gern JE, Jackson DJ, Sigelman SM, Togias A, Liu AH, Busse WW, Khurana Hershey GK.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2022 Apr;149(4):1481-1485. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2021.07.047. PMID: 3460683

Infant gut bacterial community composition and food-related manifestation of atopy in early childhood.
Joseph CL, Sitarik AR, Kim H, Huffnagle G, Fujimura K, Yong GJM, Levin AM, Zoratti E, Lynch S, Ownby DR, Lukacs NW, Davidson B, Barone C, Cole Johnson C.
Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2022 Jan;33(1):e13704. doi: 10.1111/pai.13704.
.PMID: 34811824

COVID-19 Modulates Inflammatory and Renal Markers That May Predict Hospital Outcomes among African American Males.
Fonseca W, Asai N, Yagi K, Malinczak CA, Savickas G, Johnson CC, Murray S, Zoratti EM, Lukacs NW, Li J, Schuler Iv CF.
Viruses. 2021 Dec 2;13(12):2415. doi: 10.3390/v13122415.
PMID: 34960684

Regional and sociodemographic differences in average BMI among US children in the ECHO program.
Bekelman TA, Dabelea D, Ganiban JM, Law A, McGovern Reilly A, Althoff KN, Mueller N, Camargo CA Jr, Duarte CS, Dunlop AL, Elliott AJ, Ferrara A, Gold DR, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hartert T, Hipwell AE, Huddleston K, Johnson CC, Karagas MR, Karr CJ, Hershey GKK, Leve L, Mahabir S, McEvoy CT, Neiderhiser J, Oken E, Rundle A, Sathyanarayana S, Turley C, Tylavsky FA, Watson SE, Wright R, Zhang M, Zoratti E; program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO).
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2021 Dec;29(12):2089-2099. doi: 10.1002/oby.23235. PMID: 34467678

Inducible expression quantitative trait locus analysis of the MUC5AC gene in asthma in urban populations of children.
Altman MC, Flynn K, Rosasco MG, Dapas M, Kattan M, Lovinsky-Desir S, O'Connor GT, Gill MA, Gruchalla RS, Liu AH, Pongracic JA, Khurana Hershey GK, Zoratti EM, Teach SJ, Rastrogi D, Wood RA, Bacharier LB, LeBeau P, Gergen PJ, Togias A, Busse WW, Presnell S, Gern JE, Ober C, Jackson DJ; NIAID Inner City Asthma Consortium.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2021 Dec;148(6):1505-1514. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2021.04.035.
PMID: 34019912

Pediatric asthma incidence rates in the United States from 1980 to 2017.
Johnson CC, Havstad SL, Ownby DR, Joseph CLM, Sitarik AR, Biagini Myers J, Gebretsadik T, Hartert TV, Khurana Hershey GK, Jackson DJ, Lemanske RF Jr, Martin LJ, Zoratti EM, Visness CM, Ryan PH, Gold DR, Martinez FD, Miller RL, Seroogy CM, Wright AL, Gern JE; Children’s Respiratory and Environmental Workgroup in the ECHO Consortium.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2021 Nov;148(5):1270-1280. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2021.04.027.
PMID: 33964299

Maternal gut microbiome regulates immunity to RSV infection in offspring.
Fonseca W, Malinczak CA, Fujimura K, Li D, McCauley K, Li J, Best SKK, Zhu D, Rasky AJ, Johnson CC, Bermick J, Zoratti EM, Ownby D, Lynch SV, Lukacs NW, Ptaschinski C
.J Exp Med. 2021 Nov 1;218(11):e20210235. doi: 10.1084/jem.20210235.
PMID: 34613328

Heterogeneity of magnitude, allergen immunodominance, and cytokine polarization of cockroach allergen-specific T cell responses in allergic sensitized children.
da Silva Antunes R, Sutherland A, Frazier A, Schulten V, Pomés A, Glesner J, Calatroni A, Altman MC, Wood RA, O'Connor GT, Pongracic JA, Khurana Hershey GK, Kercsmar CM, Gruchalla RS, Gill M, Liu AH, Zoratti E, Kattan M, Busse PJ, Bacharier LB, Teach SJ, Wheatley LM, Togias A, Busse WW, Jackson DJ, Sette A.
Clin Transl Allergy. 2021 Oct 13;11(8):e12073. doi: 10.1002/clt2.12073.
PMID: 34691392

Increased risk of asthma at age 10 years for children sensitized to multiple allergens.
Havstad SL, Sitarik A, Kim H, Zoratti EM, Ownby D, Johnson CC, Wegienka G.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2021 Oct;127(4):441-445.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2021.04.028.
PMID: 3397135

Sesame allergy is more prevalent among Middle Eastern/North African patients in an urban healthcare system.
Joseph CLM, Sitarik AR, Kado R, Bassirpour G, Miree CA, Taylor M, Kim H.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2021 Oct;9(10):3833-3835. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2021.05.036.
PMID: 34146751

US Childhood Asthma Incidence Rate Patterns From the ECHO Consortium to Identify High-risk Groups for Primary Prevention.
Johnson CC, Chandran A, Havstad S, Li X, McEvoy CT, Ownby DR, Litonjua AA, Karagas MR, Camargo CA Jr, Gern JE, Gilliland F, Togias A; Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) collaborators.
JAMA Pediatr. 2021 Sep 1;175(9):919-927. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.0667.
PMID: 33999100

Peanut oral immunotherapy in a pediatric allergy clinic: Patient factors associated with clinical outcomes.
Guarnieri KM, Slack IF, Gadoury-Lévesque V, Eapen AA, Andorf S, Lierl MB.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2021 Aug;127(2):214-222.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2021.04.003. Epub 2021 Apr 9.
PMID: 33839246