A New Year’s Message from Dr. Sung Poblete, CEO of FARE

Dear FARE community,

As we enter 2026, let’s name the big scientific question—the question underlying food allergy, which can cause life-threatening reactions, driving the very need for all of us to form this community.

Why does the immune system attack itself, and how can we stop it? In 2025, scientists Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their progress in answering this question, which has the power to save many lives. When Sakaguchi spoke to high school students in Stockholm, Sweden, he emphasized the importance of dialogue, advising that you must “open the door and go across the bridge, to communicate with other scientists and to hear what they say."

At our first Mind Meld Innovation Summit, we did exactly that. We convened the world’s leading immunologists, opened doors, and got scientists talking across disciplines. We were fortunate to have a Nobel laureate in our midst, Dr. Phillip A. Sharp, professor emeritus at MIT and special advisor to the CEO, as well as our members of our esteemed Scientific Advisory Council. We created new avenues for discovery and announced a clear path to pursuing them. That’s just the beginning.

We are a movement. My career has been dedicated to collaboration, education, and cooperation. My guiding principle is a collaboration-first model designed to accelerate turning discoveries into patient realities. In my previous tenure as a CEO, we funded cancer research that contributed to the development of nine FDA-approved cancer therapies, supported more than 270 clinical trials, and helped treat over 29,350 clinical trial patients. With aligned funding, FARE can shorten the timelines for treating food allergy, another disease that reflects the complexities of the immune system.  

FARE is focused on food allergy research, prevention, better diagnostics, expanded treatments, and finding a cure. We know that scientific rigor yields knowledge, which creates connection and understanding that leads to action.

FARE will never lose sight of taking care of patients on our journey. This journey includes joy and using knowledge to empower oneself. But at times it can also revolve around preparation, vigilance, even fear. I feel this intensely because I am a food allergy patient. Every day, our team at FARE directs that same level of careful attention to making life better for our community through programs devoted to food allergy management, education, advocacy, and raising awareness in the broader public so that everyone is ready to act in case of anaphylaxis.

We’re all in this together. But we can’t do it without you: your energy, your knowledge, your heart and courageousness, and your support. You are at the center of what makes the food allergy community unstoppable. We’re not just saying that, we’re ready for things to be different—and we are all making it happen. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!  

We Are FARE,
Sung Poblete, PhD, RN
CEO of FARE