Allergy and Immunology

The Department of Allergy and Immunology has excellent clinical expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of children with allergy, asthma and primary immunodeficiency. Allergy and Immunology is designated by the Texas Department of State Health Services as a Newborn SCID Screening Pediatric Immunology Consultant and can rapidly evaluate patients identified with abnormal screening test results in the Newborn Primary Immunodeficiency (PIDD) Screening Clinic. As a part of the National Institutes of Health sponsored HIV Trials, we provide a variety of research and treatment options for infants, children and adolescents with HIV infection/exposure.

Allergy and Immunology patient Chase Robinson during allergy test

Among the research initiatives underway is a landmark peanut immunotherapy trial, using a process known as desensitization where patients swallow tiny, increasing amounts of peanut over time. The study will investigate the ability of peanut allergic children to take peanut flour, the mechanism by which the body develops tolerance, and measure the effect of viral infections. The goal of the trial is to find a standard of care that may lower the risk of severe allergic reactions in patients and eventually cease the allergy completely. Texas Children’s is the first center in the southwest region with approval from the Food and Drug Administration to dispense peanut flour as an investigational new drug.

In 2013, Texas Children's established the Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Center with a gift from the Jeffrey Modell Foundation, a global non-profit organization dedicated to primary immunodeficiency (PI) research, physician education, patient support, public awareness, advocacy and newborn screening. The center will service the Houston area and South Texas region and offer advanced diagnostic evaluation to patients with a suspected PI, a group of disorders arising from defects in the immune system carried by the genes and characterized by infections that can be recurring, persistent, debilitating and chronic. The center is integrated with the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Human Immunobiology, a scientific and clinical collaborative aimed at obtaining deep insights from the human immune system.