The NIH awards the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute a $2.3 million grant to support its research on food allergies

Little Rock, Arkansas – Grant support will enable Arkansas Children’s Research Institute to carry out a number of significant discoveries.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the ACRI $2.3 million to support the organization’s ongoing study of food allergies, an official from the organization said on Wednesday. The Arkansas Center for Food Allergy Research at the institute is the recipient of the seven-year funding.

According to officials, the award will enable the center to carry out treatment trials, longitudinal studies, and research design approaches with the goal of enhancing the quality of life for kids with allergies to foods like wheat, peanuts, milk, eggs, and tree nuts.

The center’s research produced the first biologic treatment for various food allergies and peanut allergies in children and adults, which was approved by the FDA earlier this year.

Principal investigator and head of the center, Dr. Stacie Jones, stated that the award increases capacity.

“We have seen astounding advancements for families affected by food allergies over the last 20 years, but our work is far from done,” Jones said. “The next phase of funding will help us create better opportunities for global implementation of the most effective therapeutic and prevention options.”

The Arkansas Children’s Research Institute debuted on the campus of Arkansas Children’s Hospital in 1992 and was founded in 1992 to give UAMS faculty and scientists an on-site research setting. The Arkansas Center for Food Allergy Research of the institute is a member of a national network of ten hospitals or medical facilities that are testing novel treatments for food allergies.