Mar 6, 2020
Dr. Onyinye Iweala is a professor of medicine in the Division of
Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology at the University of North
Carolina School of Medicine whose expertise lies in environmental
allergies, including allergic rhinitis, chronic hives, and food
allergies.
She joins the show to talk about a number of interesting topics,
such as:
As a junior in college, Dr. Iweala took her first basic immunology
class and pretty much knew that that was the path she wanted to
pursue as a doctor. Not only did she find it complicated and
fascinating, but also very relevant to human health. In recent
years, food allergy has been on the rise, particularly in
industrial countries like the U.S. This has caused concern for many
people, especially since there has only very recently been a food
allergy treatment on the market.
Dr. Iweala discusses how this new drug functions in the body, and
how it is based on the principles of oral immunotherapy. She
also explains the standard understanding of IgE-mediated allergy
responses, and how a non IgE-mediated allergy response prompted by
an alpha-gal allergy is unique and challenging to detect.
She touches on a number of other interesting subjects, such as how
multiple food allergies in a single person might be treated, the
goal of recent and ongoing studies in the field, and much more.