I T Y Joe Jeffers W.D. and Alice Burch Professor of Chemistry and Pre-Medical Studies Chair, Department of Chemistry, and Chair, Division of Natural Science Research Interests Studies of Peanut Allergen Binding to Immunoglobulin E Peanut allergy is a significant health problem because of the frequency, potential severity, and chronicity of the allergic sensitivity.
Episodes tend to be quite severe, sometimes resulting in fatal anaphylaxis.
I am collaborating with Dr. Gary Bannon at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Dr. Wesley Burkes of Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute Department of Pediatrics. We have mapped four regions of IgE binding. All allergen sites are on seed storage proteins. We are conducting mutation studies to see what amino acid changes can occur in the sites to lose IgE binding while maintaining normal T-cell binding. We hope to develop peanut strains that do not cause the allergic response in sensitive individuals, and we hope to develop treatment therapies for individuals already sensitive to current strains.