NU-CoFAR Clinical Research Center: advancing food allergy care
Official title: Northwestern University CoFAR (NU-CoFAR) Clinical Research Center
Funded at Northwestern University · NIH-11579221 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new NUCoFAR center at Northwestern will enroll children and adults with food allergies (and pregnant women/infants for prevention) to study how allergies develop, how severe reactions can be predicted, and how to improve access to care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | March 11, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $328,243 |
| NIH project number | 3U01AI181897-03S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11579221 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates include children and adults with diagnosed food allergies, pregnant women seeking prevention data, and infants for prevention studies.
✕Less likely to help
Some participants may not experience direct personal benefit, especially in observational components or prevention studies where results may apply broadly rather than to an individual.
What this research studies
The NUCoFAR Clinical Research Center will bring together experts from Northwestern and affiliated institutions to conduct observational and interventional studies in people with food allergy. The center will recruit children and adults with food allergies, along with pregnant women and infants for prevention studies, using standardized, best-practice methods. Researchers will leverage large, diverse patient data across multiple centers to better understand etiology, severity, reaction thresholds, prognosis, and disparities in care. The work aims to identify new therapeutic targets and to explore how clinical parameters relate to outcomes, with an emphasis on improving patient quality of life and access to care. Funding will support establishing the center’s infrastructure, patient recruitment, data harmonization, and collaboration across sites.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients with food allergy could see more personalized care, earlier prediction of reaction risk, and improved access to effective therapies.
How similar studies have gone: Previous multi-center collaborations have shown that pooling data across centers can yield insights not possible at a single site, supporting this approach’s potential.
Where this research is happening
-
Northwestern University
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gupta, Ruchi S — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Gupta, Ruchi S
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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.