CHILD, AllerGen researchers receive generous boost from private donation

CHILD, AllerGen researchers receive generous boost from private donation

Walter and Maria Schroeder

The CHILD Cohort Study and McMaster-based AllerGen investigators studying food allergy will be beneficiaries of a generous donation made to McMaster University in support of allergy research.

Part of the donation of $10M made by Walter and Maria Schroeder and family will help facilitate CHILD’s use of bioinformatics to harness the massive volume of data the Study has generated. CHILD’s National Coordinating Centre (NCC) is based at McMaster.

“When we met in 2019, I was pleased to share with the Schroeders  the discoveries we have made to date in CHILD regarding the early-life origins of asthma and allergies,” comments Dr. Padmaja Subbarao, CHILD’s Director. “I am delighted that CHILD’s potential to transform the way asthma and allergy are diagnosed and treated resonated with them.”

“We are very grateful for their generous donation that will allow us to continue the important work that we are doing.”

The donation will also enable Drs Susan Waserman and Manel Jordana to accelerate and expand their food allergy research related to allergic antibodies and immune memory and fuel the development of new clinical treatments, therapeutics and AI algorithm learning.

“This gift will have a significant impact on the understanding and treatment of food allergies,” states Dr. Jordana, “and will position Canadian researchers to lead the world in improving the lives of the millions of people currently living with allergic disease.”

Drs Subbarao, Waserman and Jordana express their gratitude to the Schroeder family in a video produced by McMaster. The video also features Aiyana, an 8-year-old, Winnipeg-based participant in CHILD, who shares her appreciation for the Schroeder family’s  transformative gift.

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Watch the video

The Schroeder’s donation will establish the Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute at McMaster, which will be home to an endowed chair and will support senior scientists, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students in allergy investigation and bioinformatics.

Walter Schroeder was a 1969 MBA graduate of McMaster and is known for founding the Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS), which became the fourth-largest debt rating agency in the world. He created the Walter and Maria Schroeder Foundation in 2015, which supports efforts to improve health care in Canada.

Read the McMaster announcement