The Pryde Family Travel Grant provides two $500 grants for graduate students, medical students or healthcare professionals who have an interest in food allergy/anaphylaxis. The funds help to offset expenses for attending an academic program or event related to food allergy. This grant was established in honour of the Pryde family and friends, and the friends and family of Sean Delaney.
Read about our 2023 recipients, Lauren Wong and Kamila Lizee, who are using their grants to attend the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting. Learn more about them below.
Meet Lauren Wong
What is your connection to food allergy/anaphylaxis; why are you interested in this field?
I grew up with food allergies and am still at risk of anaphylaxis to peanuts. My personal experience with allergies has made me curious about innovations in the field, which has led to my involvement in allergy and immunology research. I am a medical student at the University of Alberta, and having faced challenges with my own allergies, I understand and want to help others with allergies in the future through healthcare.
How will you be using the grant?
I will be using the grant to attend the 2024 AAAAI annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Why did you choose this event? What are the anticipated benefits of your participation in relation to your educational goals?
This meeting is an amazing opportunity to learn about new projects and findings in allergy and immunology, and meet other students and professionals with a shared passion for allergy! Much of my research has been around peanut allergy and immunotherapy, and it will be interesting to see what other work is being done in this specific topic. Also, as a future physician, I hope to connect with others who can give me insight into a career as an allergist, which is a path I am considering in my training.
What advancements in food allergy research and treatment excite you, and what can they mean for the food allergy community?
Immunotherapy and the possibility of exposing people to food allergens early on in life has great potential, and is something I have been studying through my research. Developing a more standardized approach to oral immunotherapy (allergen is given orally) and having it more widely available, as well as other methods such as epicutaneous immunotherapy (allergen is given through a patch applied to the skin), are exciting advancements that could enable people with allergies to become desensitized, experience less stress when eating out, and have fewer anaphylactic reactions from cross-contamination.
Is there anything you would like to add?
I am so grateful for Food Allergy Canada for providing me with this grant and opportunity to learn more about allergy!
Meet Kamila Lizee
What is your connection to food allergy/anaphylaxis; why are you interested in this field?
I have always been interested in everything food-related, leading me to study food science for my bachelor’s although I did not have many close family members and friends with allergies.
As I progressed in my studies, I decided to pursue further education and started my master’s degree researching Canadian products with precautionary allergen labelling (“may contain” statements) and the risk for those with food allergy. I have come to more fully understand the various challenges that the food allergy community faces and that have yet to be resolved, and hopefully, I will be able to make a difference with our research.
Food allergy is an incredibly interesting field, as many facets still need answers, from the root cause of the condition to how food labelling affects food choices.
How will you be using the grant?
I will use this grant to cover the expenses of the 2023 AAAAI annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas. I was able to attend and present a poster with our preliminary research results.
Why did you choose this event? What are the anticipated benefits of your participation in relation to your educational goals?
I chose to present our research results at the AAAAI meeting as it is one of the largest gatherings of healthcare providers specializing in allergies and it provided an excellent opportunity to share data from the food science world into the medical field.
What advancements in food science research excite you, and what can they mean for the food allergy community?
My interests lie in improving and standardizing food allergen labelling as well as providing current data to the food industry to help them improve their production methods. The goal is to help the Canadian food industry in creating safer options for those with food allergy, and we accomplish this by doing a probabilistic risk assessment and creating models with current data.
Is there anything you would like to add?
I would like to thank Food Allergy Canada and the Pryde Family for this grant, it allowed us to share our knowledge with researchers and healthcare providers we do not usually have access to. It was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas with researchers as well as learn from some of the world’s leading experts in the field of allergy and immunotherapy.
Congratulations Lauren and Kamila! To learn more about the Pryde Family Travel Grant, visit our community awards page.
Tags: community awards, Food allergy champion, Pryde family travel grant