Food allergy is an immune mediated adverse reaction to otherwise harmless proteins in the food. Food allergy is a major health problem in the Western countries, where it affects 3-8% of the population and appears to be a growing problem.

Presently we don’t know what makes a food protein able to induce allergy. In my research I focus on examining the relationship between different chemical characteristics of food proteins, such as protein structure and digestibility, and their capacity to induce either allergy or tolerance. Further I study the interaction between the food proteins and the antibodies developed in the allergic reaction (epitope mapping). Translational work is important to me, making our research applicable for better allergy vaccines and diagnostic methods.

My primary focus has been on peanut and milk proteins, including milk infant formulas.