AllerGen researcher funded to lead study of protein involved in severe asthma

Dr. Bruce Mazer, an AllerGen investigator and division head of Allergy and Immunology at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, is leading a new study that will determine how the protein Semaphorin 4C (Sema4C) is involved in the development of severe asthma.

“Regulatory B-cells inhibit Allergic Airways Disease: Role of Semaphorin 4C” has received a five-year operating grant, valued at over $700,000, from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR-ICRH).

The award will support Dr. Mazer and his research team to better understand the role of Sema4C in the regulation of the immune system and the development of signs of severe asthma, including severe bronchospasm, high levels of the IgE antibody, and increased B-lymphocytes in the lungs. The results could contribute to new treatment options for individuals living with severe asthma.

Dr. Mazer is Deputy Executive Director/Deputy Chief Scientific Officer of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). He leads an AllerGen study to develop an effective and safe treatment of cow’s milk allergy with oral immunotherapy (OIT) and is a researcher with GET-FACTS: Genetics, Environment and Therapies: Food Allergy Clinical Tolerance Studies—a project that combines components of population genetics, immunology, clinical medicine and sociocultural analyses to study the nature of food allergies.