Before I was a social worker I was a researcher, specifically in the field of youth perception/cognition and later Autism Spectrum Disorders. I’ve done everything from set 6 month olds up with touch screens to see how they view the world, to sexuality surveys with adults on the spectrum, to blood collection and processing. And I’ve loved every moment of it. Research to me is a way to dig deeper and uncover what in the past may have been considered unobtainable, it is a world for the curious. I hold great value in a well developed research study, and have made efforts to keep up to date about Celiac Disease and Food Allergy research as I’ve professionally moved a bit further away from doing it myself.

One superb researcher in this field is Doctor Alessio Fasano, from the Center for Celiac Disease Research at Mass General. You see his name everywhere in the Celiac Disease Community, and he has done great work in the field so far to improve diagnosis and quality of life. Now he and his team are conducting a research study which could change the way we understand the development of Celiac Disease and YOU can help solve the puzzle. The Celiac Disease Genomic, Environmental, Microbiome, and Metabolomic (CDGEMM) Study is now seeking infants age 6 months or younger who have a first degree relative (mother, father, or sibling) with Celiac Disease across the USA. If you are one of those first degree relatives, and have an infant or plan to or are pregnant, consider participating! More details can be found on the flier, and link, below: www.CDGEMM.org