Non-invasive tests to find foods causing EoE in kids
Official title: A pilot feasibility study of novel, non-invasive EoE food tests
Funded at Children's Hosp of Philadelphia · NIH-11445547 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A pilot study to test new, non-invasive methods that identify foods causing eosinophilic esophagitis in children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Children's Hosp of Philadelphia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $356,000 |
| NIH project number | 1R01DK146329-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11445547 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children diagnosed with EoE or with suspected EoE who require identification of causal foods.
✕Less likely to help
Children without EoE or those whose disease is not food-triggered may not benefit from these tests.
What this research studies
This project looks for safer, easier ways to figure out which foods trigger eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in kids by using functional T cell assays to detect food-specific immune responses. If successful, the approach could reduce how often children need endoscopies and biopsies while guiding personalized elimination diets. The study will recruit pediatric patients with suspected or confirmed EoE and analyze blood-based or other minimally invasive tests in relation to their dietary triggers. Results could lead to faster, child-friendly diagnosis and better disease control with fewer procedures.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, children with EoE could avoid invasive tests and receive tailored dietary plans sooner, improving symptoms and quality of life.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows promise in detecting food-specific T cells, but this exact non-invasive approach for pediatric EoE is still being evaluated.
Where this research is happening
-
Children's Hosp of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hill, David Andrew — Children's Hosp of Philadelphia
- Study coordinator: Hill, David Andrew
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Emotional and biobehavioral links in parent-infant closeness
A program to understand how parent and baby feel and react to each other in early life, with the goal of guiding better child social and emotional development.
-
Leukodystrophy Clinical Careers and Mentorship Network
A program to train, mentor, and support clinicians and researchers to advance care for people with leukodystrophies.
-
Role of ATP1A3 mutations in sudden death related to epilepsy
Aims to understand how ATP1A3 gene changes may lead to sudden death in kids with epilepsy and is exploring new ways to prevent it.
-
Kids First Data Resource Center: cloud-enabled data sharing for childhood cancer research
A data resource project that makes pediatric cancer data and analyses more accessible to researchers, with the goal of advancing understanding and care for children with cancer.
-
PROMISE: A Network for Real-World Evidence in Rare Pediatric Cancers
A network will collect and harmonize pediatric cancer patient records from multiple centers to create high-quality real-world data that can support quicker, regulatory-ready insights when randomized trials aren’t feasible.
-
Data Hub Core for Down syndrome research
A data hub project is building a big, interoperable platform to securely share and analyze information from people with Down syndrome and related conditions.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.