ImmunoCAST

More than 1 in 4 children with food allergy live in food-insecure families, highlighting a challenge that extends well beyond allergen avoidance. This episode explores how food insecurity, socioeconomic status, access to care, insurance coverage, geographic barriers, medication affordability, and access to allergen-free foods can affect food allergy management and quality of life. The conversation covers diagnostic accuracy, unnecessary elimination diets, targeted specific IgE testing, testing with allergen component, nutritional risk, emergency department utilization, pharmacoequity, food insecurity screening, and community resources. Clinicians will learn practical ways to identify barriers affecting their patients, refine food allergy diagnoses, reduce unnecessary food avoidance, and connect families with appropriate nutrition, social, and specialty resources.

Resources and references:

https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/immunocast/food-allergy-disparities-food-insecurity-primary-care.html?cid=0ct_3pc_05032024_9SGOV4

About 30% to 40% of the world’s population is affected by some form of allergic disease, making allergy a routine consideration in primary care. But as interest in the microbiome grows, clinicians and patients face an important question: what does the evidence actually tell us about its role in allergic disease? This episode explores immune development, the hygiene and biodiversity hypotheses, food allergy, early-life tolerance, the gut-skin axis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, antibiotic exposure, diagnostic testing, and early peanut introduction. The discussion separates established evidence from emerging associations and considers what, if anything, should change in clinical practice today. Clinicians will come away with practical guidance on maintaining evidence-based allergy diagnosis and management while understanding where microbiome research may shape future approaches to prevention and care.

Resources and references: https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/immunocast/microbiome-and-allergy-what-primary-care-should-know.html?cid=0ct_3pc_05032024_9SGOV4

Many diagnoses involve laboratory diagnostics, yet patients with autoimmune and allergic disease still face delayed or incomplete testing. In this live recording of ImmunoCAST from Lab Week 2026, featuring allergist Dr. Zachary Rubin and autoimmune specialist Dr. Crista Prates, we examine how laboratories can close the gap with smarter clinician partnerships, reflex and tiered testing, ANA follow-up strategies, anti-CCP and rheumatoid factor interpretation, and comprehensive aeroallergen and food allergy diagnostics. The discussion also covers seronegative disease, spondyloarthritis, chronic sinusitis, allergen component diagnostics, and when sensitization does—or does not—equal clinical allergy. Listeners will gain practical insights to help improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce patient anxiety, and support earlier treatment decisions.

References and resources: https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/immunocast/labs-to-clinic-closing-autoimmune-allergy-testing-gaps.html?cid=0ct_3pc_05032024_9SGOV4

A 7% sensitization rate by 3 months of age highlights how early allergic disease can begin, making early recognition critical for long-term patient outcomes. In this episode, internationally recognized allergy researcher and pediatric allergist Dr. Anna Asarnoj shares insights from the landmark BAMSE birth cohort and her decades of research on how allergies develop, evolve, and sometimes resolve over time. Together, we explore the atopic march, early-life sensitization, component-resolved diagnostics, pet allergen risk stratification, oral immunotherapy, and emerging strategies to prevent food allergy before it becomes clinically established. Gain practical, evidence-based insights to improve diagnostic precision, risk assessment, and long-term allergy

Resources and references: https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/immunocast/early-life-sensitization-food-allergy-risk.html?cid=0ct_3pc_05032024_9SGOV4

Few scientists have shaped modern allergy medicine as profoundly as Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills. From pioneering research on dust mite allergens and environmental drivers of asthma to helping uncover the IgE-mediated mechanism behind alpha-gal syndrome, his discoveries have transformed how clinicians diagnose and manage allergic disease. In this special episode, Dr. Platts-Mills shares the stories behind some of allergy's most important breakthroughs, including the landmark studies that established allergen exposure as a key factor in asthma, the surprising path that led to the discovery of alpha-gal syndrome, and practical lessons for identifying allergic triggers in clinical practice. Topics include environmental exposure reduction, regional allergen patterns, skin testing versus specific IgE blood testing, component diagnostics, interpretation of sensitization, and the evolving understanding of alpha-gal syndrome. Clinicians will gain both historical perspective and actionable diagnostic insights from one of the most influential investigators in allergy and immunology.

Resources and references: https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/immunocast/alpha-gal-syndrome-dust-mite-Tom-Platts-Mills-specific-ige.html?cid=0ct_3pc_05032024_9SGOV4

Dr. Ruchi Gupta, board-certified pediatrician and founding director of the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research (CFAAR), and PA Gary Falcetano joined forces on a Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) webinar to discuss nuances and insights for managing food allergies across a patient’s life. In this episode we share some of the important questions that were asked about specific IgE blood testing, skin testing, component resolved diagnostics, oral food challenges, guideline updates, and common pitfalls. We also explore baked egg and baked milk tolerance, access and affordability barriers, and early peanut introduction in high-risk infants. Clinicians will leave with a clearer framework for interpreting results, selecting the right test, and applying diagnostics to improve management decisions.

Resources and references:

https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/immunocast/managing-food-allergies-across-the-lifespan-diagnostics.html?cid=0ct_3pc_05032024_9SGOV4

Food allergy diagnosis is still too often driven by tests instead of history, leading to unnecessary restriction and missed opportunities for targeted care. In this episode, we invite Dr. Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn, a leading researcher in food allergy and Director of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Division at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, to help unpack the core clinical challenge of distinguishing true food allergy from sensitization, and discuss practical approaches to history-directed testing, component-resolved diagnostics, baked milk and egg tolerance, oral immunotherapy, and eosinophilic esophagitis recognition in atopic patients. We also highlight how primary care can help identify higher-risk patients earlier, improve referral decisions, and support more precise management using evolving diagnostic tools. For clinicians caring for children and adults with allergy, this conversation offers actionable insights for diagnosis, risk stratification, and day-to-day management.

References and resources:

https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/immunocast/eoe-food-allergy-diagnostics-update.html?cid=0ct_3pc_05032024_9SGOV4

Asthma affects over 26 million people in the U.S., yet outcomes can vary dramatically based on factors beyond disease severity. This episode explores the critical gap between diagnosis and optimal asthma control, focusing on how socioeconomic status, access to care, and environmental exposures shape patient outcomes. Through a mock case study, we examine disparities in healthcare access, allergist availability, and treatment adherence, alongside key topics such as epidemiology, risk stratification, environmental trigger identification, diagnostic testing and interpretation, and guideline-based management. The discussion highlights the role of allergic sensitization in asthma pathophysiology and emphasizes the importance of comprehensive specific IgE testing in identifying root causes. Clinicians will gain actionable strategies to improve diagnosis, implement cost-effective interventions, and optimize asthma management directly within primary care settings.

Resources and references:

https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/immunocast/asthma-management-disparities-ige-testing-primary-care.html?cid=0ct_3pc_05032024_9SGOV4

With 29 million golfers in the U.S. and an estimated 7.25 million affected by spring allergies, seasonal respiratory symptoms can meaningfully affect performance and daily function. This episode explores how tree and grass pollen exposure, overlapping sensitizations, and indoor allergens can combine to drive rhinitis, fatigue, sleep disruption, and reduced daytime performance. We discuss regional pollen patterns, why pine pollen is often less clinically important than oak and juniper, how to avoid assuming a single trigger is the cause, and how localized respiratory allergen profiles with specific IgE testing can help clarify sensitization. Practical counseling includes using specific IgE results to help inform exposure reduction and environmental control to help improve symptom control and guide management.

References and resources:

https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/immunocast/masters-golf-respiratory-allergies-pollen-management.html

A large 2024 study found that a comprehensive respiratory allergen profile captured more than 98% of seasonal sensitizations, highlighting a major challenge in respiratory allergy care: testing with single allergens can miss the full picture. In this episode, we explore the most optimized regional respiratory profiles and how they improve diagnostic yield, reduce duplicate testing, and help clinicians identify polysensitization across trees, weeds, molds, and indoor allergens. We also discuss how symptom patterns, geographic prevalence, cross-reactivity, and reflex testing with allergen components can sharpen interpretation and guide more personalized management. For primary care providers managing recurrent spring allergy symptoms, this episode offers practical insights into diagnostic strategy, exposure reduction, and when to consider referral for advanced care.

Resources and references:

https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/immunocast/regional-respiratory-profiles-spring-allergy-diagnostics.html?cid=0ct_3pc_05032024_9SGOV4