ECARF awards 2007 Research Prize

PD Dr. Vera Mahler (right), Prof. Dr. Marcus Maurer (left)

The allergologist Dr. Vera Mahler has been awarded the € 5,000 ADF/ECARF Award for European Research. Dr. Mahler, who works in the Dermatology Clinic at the Erlangen University Hospital, won the prize for her work in creating allergen-free tomatoes. She worked together with researchers from Erlangen and Langen. The prize was awarded at this year’s meeting of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Dermatologische Forschung (Working Group on Dermatology Research) in Freiburg.

Dr. Mahler presented her research, titled “Reduced in vivo IgE-reactivity of Lyc e 1-reduced transgene tomatoes,” to colleagues from Austria, Germany and Switzerland at the ADF’s annual meeting.

Food allergies are common, dangerous, difficult to treat, and a massive burden for those afflicted.  So-called “cross-reactive allergens” are especially problematic. These are allergy-causing substances that occur naturally in many different food items. One of these substances is profilin, found in tomatoes and elsewhere, which Dr. Mahler used in her research as a “model allergen”.

With her research, Dr. Mahler proved that it is possible to alter foodstuffs so that they lose their allergenic characteristics. Using a scientific process called RNA-Interference, Dr. Mahler and her team succeeded in breeding profilin-free tomatoes. Her work creates hope that, with the help of new technologies, other food items can be made allergen-free.

The € 5,000 ADF/ECARF Prize is awarded annually by ECARF and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Dermatologische Forschung. The Prize was first awarded in 2005.

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