Research!America Honors the Food Allergy Initiative

Recipient of the Paul G. Rogers Distinguished Organization Advocacy Award

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) will receive Research!America's 2012 Paul G. Rogers Distinguished Organization Advocacy Award for its pioneering role in advancing food allergy research, which has led to a significant increase in federal research funding and created safer environments for individuals with food allergies.  

The award will be presented to FAI's executive director, Mary Jane Marchisotto, at the 16th Annual Advocacy Awards tonight at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. The awards dinner attracts more than 400 leaders from government, industry, academia and health advocacy organizations to recognize top medical and health research advocates who have made an impact in advancing the nation's commitment toward research. 

"The Food Allergy Initiative is a champion for advancing research and driving legislation that protects consumers from this life-threatening illness," said Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America. "Food allergies are an international health problem and we support FAI's efforts to develop new therapies that will cure or prevent this public health issue."

"FAI is committed to funding research to find a cure for food allergies and creating safer environments for food-allergic people," said Marchisotto. "We are honored to be recognized by Research!America for our efforts to increase awareness about this life-threatening condition and advance promising treatments that could dramatically improve the lives of the 15 million Americans—including an astonishing 5.9 million children—who are living with food allergies."

Hogan Lovells US LLP is the benefactor of the Paul G. Rogers Distinguished Organization Advocacy Award. The award was named for former Congressman and renowned advocate for health, Paul G. Rogers (1921-2008), Research!America's former chair emeritus.              

Other 2012 Research!America Advocacy Award winners are U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD); Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR); Scott Johnson, president and founder of the Myelin Repair Foundation; and Donald Lindberg, M.D., director of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and former director of the White House High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program.

About Research!America
Research!America is the nation's largest nonprofit public education and advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority. The 2012 Advocacy Awards represent Research!America's 16th year of recognizing the accomplishments of leading advocates for medical and health research. For more information, visit www.researchamerica.org/advocacy_awards.

About the Food Allergy Initiative
The Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) is the world's largest source of private funding for food allergy research.  FAI's goal is to fund research that seeks a cure; to improve diagnosis and treatment; to increase federal funding of food allergy research and to create safer environments through advocacy; and to raise awareness through education. Founded in 1998 by concerned parents and grandparents, FAI has committed more than $75 million toward the fulfillment of its mission. FAI is headquartered in New York, with an office in the Chicago area and an active volunteer committee in the Northwest, and enjoys strong relationships with food allergy support groups and advocates nationwide. A national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, FAI is supported solely by donations from dedicated individuals, corporations, and foundations. For more information, please visit FAI at www.faiusa.org.

SOURCE Food Allergy Initiative