CFAR Postdocs advance food allergy research

Published

Wednesday, December 3, 2025 - 9:00 AM

Congratulations to our incredible CFAR3 Postdocs, who have driven critical areas of food allergy research forward - filling knowledge gaps and accelerating our understanding of prevention, early intervention and treatment strategies for children and adults.

Dr Catherine Lai (completed)

• Project Title: Dissecting the immune predictors for development of food allergy and response to oral immunotherapy
• Supervisors: Prof Dianne Campbell, Dr Peter Hsu
• Institution: Children’s Hospital at Westmead / University of Sydney
• Latest publication: “Immunoregulatory effects of 1-year dietary butyrate supplementation during oral peanut immunotherapy” (manuscript under review; Allergy)

Dr Don Vicendese (completed)

• Project Title: Developing prognostic models for food allergy
• Supervisor: Prof Shyamali Dharmage
• Institution: School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne

Dr Shay Karnaneedi (complete)

• Project Title: Molecular allergen-based diagnosis of food allergy to improve diagnosis and minimise oral food challenge
• Supervisor: Prof Andreas Lopata, A/Prof Alice Lee
• Institution: James Cook University
• Latest publication: Advances in Shellfish Allergy Therapy: From Current Approaches to Future Strategies. Allergy & Immunology. Jul 2025

Dr Des Shifti (final stages)

• Project Title: Improving the prevention of food allergy
• Supervisor: A/Prof Jennifer Koplin
• Institution: Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland
• Latest publication: Mapping the Burden and Risk Factors of Allergic Diseases and Asthma Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: A Scoping Review. Clinical & Experimental Allergy. Aug 2025

Dr Sarah Ashley (final stages)

• Project Title: Immune mechanisms underpinning remission and natural resolution of allergy
• Supervisor: Prof Mimi Tang, Dr Anthony Bosco
• Institution: Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Dr Diana Zannino (ongoing)

• Project Title: Detailed evaluation of the outcomes of the Vitality trial
• Supervisor: Prof Kate Lee, Prof Kirsten Perrett
• Institution: Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Tanya van Aswegen (ongoing)

• Project Title: Breast milk-fed babies and food allergies: a qualitative study
• Team: Tanya van Aswegen, A/Prof Debbie Palmer (supervisor), Dr Sharon Perrella, Prof Donna Geddes, Dr Vicki McWilliam, Dr Merryn Netting and Prof Dianne Campbell.
• Institution: The Kids Research Institute Australia

Pictured L-R: CFAR Director Prof Kirsten Perrett, CFAR postdocs Dr Catherine Hornung, Dr Shay Karnaneedi, Dr Catherine Lai, Chief Investigator A/Prof Debbie Palmer, Dr Des Shifti and CFAR Program Manager Dr Angela Young.

Follow us on X @CRE_CFAR for updates