Dale and Julie Burghardt’s $ 5 million philanthropic donation will help open a new Food Allergy Center under the current OHSU Allergy and Immunology Clinic run by Shyam Joshi, MD and head of allergy and clinical immunology at OHSU School of Medicine. (OHSU / Jordan Sleeth)
Local couple, Dale and Julie Burghardt, donated a $ 5 million gift to start a new Food Allergy Center at Oregon Health & amp; Science University School of Medicine – the first and only academic food allergy health center in the Pacific Northwest.
Their philanthropic gift will cover the cost of running the center, including a new fitted chair, improved clinical services, new research, and clinical trials. The center will be located within the current OHSU Allergology and Immunology Clinic run by Dr. Shyam Joshi, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Head of Allergology and Clinical Immunology at OHSU Medical School. It is expected to open in 2023.
“It will change the rules of the game, not only in our region but also in the country,” said Joshi.
Currently, the nearest regional center for food allergy research for patients is in the Bay Area, leaving patients in five states with only one option, hundreds or thousands of miles away. With the establishment of the Burghardt Food Allergy Center in Portland, OHSU will be able to serve patients in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Montana.
The Burghardts’ inspiration for the center came from their family’s personal experiences, with Julie and their now 5-year-old grandson Harrison, dealing with food allergies.
Their grandson had terrifying symptoms when he was still an infant: between five and seven months he had three severe food allergic reactions. Dale and Julie Burghardt recalled the stress of calling their daughter when Harrison, just a few months old, was transported by ambulance to OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
He was eventually diagnosed with Food Protein Enteritis Syndrome (FPIES), a serious condition that usually affects young children and appears two to four hours after eating.
“It was a great relief knowing what was wrong, so we could do something about it,” said Dale Burghardt.
“Now he can even handle it himself,” said Julie Burghardt. “He knows what he can and cannot eat.
“And sometimes when he doesn’t like something, he says,” I’m allergic, “he laughs.
Unlike more famous food allergens like nuts, Joshi said FPIES can occur after your baby eats common baby foods like oatmeal, rice, sweet potatoes, bananas, or green beans. Most children eventually outgrow this condition, but like other food allergies, the diagnosis and treatment of FPIES can be dramatic and traumatic for families, as the Burghardt family found out.
“Our number one motivation was to help other families survive the stress and anxiety our family was going through before they found out Harrison had FPIES,” said Dale Burghardt. “We contacted OHSU because of its great reputation, the fact that it is the largest clinical hospital in the state, and because we felt we had the potential to achieve the best results in collaboration with OHSU by consulting, educating, testing and treating food allergies. We were overjoyed when OHSU quickly shared its vision of a food allergy center that will have a much wider impact than we ever imagined. “
With a generous donation from Burghardt, the Food Allergy Center aims to:
“It is very exciting to meet donors who are so interested in food allergies,” said Joshi. “The Burghardt Gift will accelerate our ability to expand our research footprint and increase access to treatment here in our own backyard.”
