Hope on the Horizon: What’s Next in Food Allergy
Thursday, October 8, 2026
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Bedford, NY 10506
*Full address to be provided after RSVP in an email confirmation*
About the Event
A conversation about new treatments, promising research—and what it all means for families.
FARE and hosts Hanna and Jon Lamb and Katie and David Geenberg warmly invite you to an intimate, salon-style evening exploring the exciting landscape of food allergy treatment.
As the field continues to rapidly evolve, families are navigating a growing landscape of therapies, medications, and innovations. This evening is designed to provide an accessible and engaging conversation about the latest developments in food allergy care, from promising therapies currently in clinical trials to emerging treatments and newly launched options that are beginning to (re-)shape the future of care.
The evening will feature insights from Dr. Hugh Sampson of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Dr. Jonathan Hemler of UVA Health, with the conversation moderated by Dr. Stephanie Leeds of Yale School of Medicine. Together, they will explore where the field stands today, what breakthroughs may be on the horizon, the challenges and opportunities that remain, and what families should be watching for in the years ahead.
We hope you will join us for a gathering that promises to be both informative and hopeful, offering a unique “inside look” at the innovations shaping the future of food allergy care.
Featured Speakers and Moderator
Dr. Hugh Sampson
Dr. Hugh Sampson is the Kurt Hirschlorn Professor of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director Emeritus of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute. Dr. Sampson’s research interests have focused of food allergic disorders, and now include work on the pathogenesis of food-induced anaphylaxis, characterization of allergenic food proteins and their processing by the immune system, genetics of food allergy, development of novel diagnostic tests, and mechanisms of immunotherapeutic strategies for treating food allergies including basic studies and clinical trials in oral, sublingual and epicutaneous immunotherapy and the potential use of biologics, such as anti-IgE and anti-cytokine monoclonal antibodies. His research is funded by a number of grants from the National Institutes of Health, including the recently funded Exposure to Vaginal Microbiome in C-section Infants at Hight-risk for Allergies – A Pilot Study. Dr. Sampson supervises one clinic/week in pediatric allergy and is involved in teaching fellows and residents.
He is an Associate Editor of Pediatric Allergy & Immunology, past president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and sits on FARE’s Scientific Advisory Council.
He received his medical degree from University at Buffalo School of Medicine.
Dr. Jonathan A. Hemler
Dr. Jonathan A. Hemler, is a pediatric allergist who cares for children with food allergies and other allergic diseases. An Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia (UVA), he also currently serves as Director of the Division of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, & Rheumatology and Director of the Pediatric Food Allergy Program.
Originally from Kingsport, Tennessee, Dr. Hemler spent part of his youth in Saudi Arabia before completing his undergraduate studies at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He received his medical degree from UVA and completed his residency training in Pediatrics at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Hemler then completed an Allergy/Immunology fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where he became a faculty member before returning to UVA in 2019.
Dr. Hemler is an active researcher, serving as principal investigator (PI) for UVA’s Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) Clinical Network site since 2020 and as PI on several food immunotherapy clinical trials and other studies investigating the causes and treatment of food allergy in children. He has authored and co-authored numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals on early age peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT), development of novel therapeutic approaches for food allergies, unique triggers in red meat (alpha-gal) allergy, and the genetics of food allergy. He has been honored with several awards, including: 2026 Virginia Business Top Doctor, and the Robert J. Roberts Award for an Outstanding Junior Faculty Member while at UVA; and as a Katherine Dodd Faculty Scholar, and Best Faculty Teacher while at Vanderbilt.
Outside of work, Dr. Hemler enjoys cheering on the Tennessee Titans, playing guitar and singing in his band Trick Dawg, traveling, learning about and enjoying outstanding Virginia wine, and most importantly spending time with his wife, Kelly, and his family.
Dr. Stephanie Leeds
Dr. Stephanie Leeds is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine and serves as the Principal Investigator for the FARE Clinical Network site at Yale. Her research interests focus on early-onset food allergy, including the natural history, clinical manifestations, novel treatments, and prevention strategies for food allergies in infants and toddlers. She conducts survey-based, clinical, and translational research, with recent studies examining early peanut introduction guidelines, epinephrine underuse in anaphylaxis, and educational challenges in food allergy management. Dr. Leeds completed her medical degree at the University of Chicago, pediatric residency at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and allergy/immunology fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She supervises pediatric allergy clinic at Yale New Haven Health and is actively involved in clinical education.