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Registration Underway for FAAN's 18th Annual Food Allergy Conferences

FAIRFAX, Va. (March 9, 2011) – FAAN’s lauded annual Food Allergy Conferences will once again present the opportunity for individuals affected by food allergy to learn about management strategies and medical research while networking with others who know about the challenges of living with food allergies.

This year, the conferences will take place in Baltimore, Md. on April 2, Oak Brook, Ill. on April 16, and Anaheim, Calif. on June 11. Registration is now underway for the conferences. For nearly 20 years, FAAN has offered education and support to families managing food allergies, such as by hosting these daylong conferences.

FAAN’s conferences offer a chance to hear top allergists discuss the latest advances in food allergy research and answer questions from attendees. This year, two of the nation’s most popular food allergy cookbook authors and bloggers, Cybele Pascal and Kelly Rudnicki, will be on hand for allergy-free food preparation workshops. In addition, the conferences will include sessions on how disability laws pertain to food allergies, adults managing food allergies, going to school with food allergies, and special sessions for teens, school nurses, and parents of teens with food allergies.

“We are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year, and we remain committed to educating others about this potentially life-threatening medical condition that afflicts approximately 12 million Americans, including 3 million children,” said FAAN CEO Julia Bradsher. “Families, caregivers, educators and health care professionals who have attended the conferences in past years have repeatedly told us how empowered they felt by the end of the day. We look forward to continuing to empower more people.”

Key speakers this year include:

  • In Baltimore - Robert A. Wood, M.D., professor of pediatrics and international health and the director of pediatric allergy and immunology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., as well as the author of Food Allergies for Dummies
  • In Oak Brook – Todd A. Mahr, M.D., a clinical professor of pediatrics with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and clinician with the pediatric allergy and immunology unit of the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, Wis.
  • In Anaheim – John James, M.D., an allergist in private clinical practice with the Colorado Allergy and Asthma Centers, Fort Collins, Colo.

Ellen Fliss of Petersburg, Ill., whose teen daughter Abby spoke at last year’s conference in Oak Brook, said the conferences have provided a way for Abby to interact with her food-allergic peers.

“I found the conferences extremely informative and helpful when she was younger and we were trying to figure out how to maintain a ‘normal’ lifestyle with a food-allergic child,” Fliss said.

Another past attendee, Mary Lenahan of Geneva, Ill., agrees that the annual conferences are particularly valuable for parents.

“My daughter was diagnosed with life-threatening food allergies more than 13 years ago,” Lenahan said. “I find that every time I attend a FAAN conference, I learn something new. It is also a wonderful opportunity to connect with other families who face the challenges of living with food allergies on a daily basis.”

For more information on the conferences, please visit www.foodallergy.org.

About FAAN

Founded in 1991, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is the world leader in information, resources, and programs for food allergy, a potentially life-threatening medical condition that afflicts as many as 15 million Americans, including almost 6 million children. A nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Va., FAAN is dedicated to increasing public awareness of food allergy and its consequences, to educating people about the condition, and to advancing research on behalf of all those affected by it. FAAN provides information and educational resources about food allergy to patients, their families, schools, health professionals, pharmaceutical companies, the food industry, and government officials. On May 9, 2012, FAAN announced its intent to merge with the other leading food allergy organization, the Food Allergy Initiative, pending state regulatory approval. To become a member or for more information, please visit FAAN at www.foodallergy.org.

Media Contact

Nancy Gregory
Media Relations
(703) 563-3066
E-mail: ngregory@foodallergy.org