Andorf Lab Research Projects

Food allergy and tolerance in children with atopic dermatitis

Studies, including our own, to determine and compare the distinct immunophenotypes of children with and without food allergy usually include participants with other allergic co-morbidities. In this project, we utilize the Mechanisms of Progression of Atopic Dermatitis to Asthma in Children (MPAACH) cohort to identify immune signatures using previously generated mass cytometry data in children with atopic dermatitis that have (1) confirmed clinical food allergy, (2) confirmed tolerance to our tested foods but evidence of sensitization and (3) confirmed tolerance and no evidence of sensitization. (Funding: NIH AADCRC: ESI Opportunity Fund [IOF], PI: Andorf)

Extension of clinical data structured into ImmPort

The sharing of research and clinical study individual-level data provides many opportunities for additional analyses beyond the initial primary studies. However, especially for clinical trials, the usability of these participant-level data is often a challenge. In this project, we work with and on NIH/NIAID’s Immunology Database and Analysis Portal (ImmPort), a public warehouse for the sharing of clinical and mechanistic data from immunological and clinical studies. The overarching goal of this project is to make the data that are currently shared in an unstructured format, particularly individual-level clinical information, more accessible and usable. This involves the organization and inclusion of data into the MySQL database model and the harmonization of terminology. (Funding: NIH/NIAID 7UH2AI145837-02, PI: Andorf)

Secondary analyses of existing clinical study data

We use publicly and institutionally available individual-level data from clinical studies to perform pooled analyses. By utilizing the data for individual participants instead of summary statistics of the clinical trials, we are able to fully leverage the heterogeneity of the data.