PhD defence: The interconnected landscape of the gut, skin and immune cells in food allergy risk

PLEASE NOTE: The candidate gives a layman's talk, therefore the livestream will start fifteen minutes earlier.

This thesis describes the development of lab-grown gut and skin models using human cells, as well as an autologous patient-derived immune cell assay, to assess whether food-related exposures trigger type 2 inflammation, which may contribute to the development of allergic sensitization.

Using 3D hydrogel-based and/or organ-on-chip techniques, as well as the autologous immune cell assay, it was observed that food allergens, food proteins, food protein processing, novel food protein hydrolysates or biomass can either be non-responsive or induce or modify immune activation.

These tools represent a step toward safer, animal-free testing approaches for future foods.