This month in Melbourne, Australia, clinician scientist at the Walter And Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), Dr. Bob Anderson, will begin the Phase 1 clinical trial of an experimental vaccine for the treatment of celiac disease. If this scientific team is successful, it could mean that a strict gluten-free diet for celiacs is a thing of the past.

The early trial will test the drugs safety on 40 volunteers that have celiac disease. If the Phase 1 trial is successful this year, Phase 2 will determine the clinical effectiveness of this vaccine. A company, Nexpep, has been created to lead in the development of the vaccine.

“The vaccine itself is intended to gradually desensitize the coeliac sufferer, so that gluten is tolerated. Consequently, the villi in the small intestine should revive and absorb nutrients in the normal way. Ideally, that would mean the end of gluten-free diets for people with coeliac disease.” says Anderson.

Click here to read more about this groundbreaking treatment and clinical trial led by Dr. Anderson.

Dr. Anderson joined the NFCA in 2008 as a member of its prestigious Scientific/Medical Advisory Board, and will be stateside to join NFCA as a distinguished guest and event honoree at the 2009 Washington DC Area Gluten-Free Cooking Spree on May 1st.

Dr. Bob Anderson is a recognized international leader in the immunology and clinical management of celiac disease. Dr. Anderson holds a doctorate and specialist physician qualifications in internal medicine and gastroenterology.

Published in 2000 (Nature Medicine 6, 337-342), his work at Oxford University revealed that the toxic components of gluten could be simply studied in patients with celiac disease using their blood shortly after they consumed gluten. After returning to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, where he is now a Laboratory Head in the Autoimmunity and Transplantation Division, Dr. Anderson established high throughput screening to map out the entire T-cell response to gluten in patients with celiac disease.

Dr. Anderson is the inventor of four patents that describe the toxic components of gluten and their therapeutic, diagnostic and functional food applications. Dr. Anderson is a founder of Nexpep Ltd (est. 2005).

Dr Anderson is a frequently invited speaker at local, national, and international clinical and scientific meetings. He has chaired and spoken on the science of celiac disease at the “Advances in celiac disease” session each year since 2005 at the annual scientific meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association. Dr Anderson has established “celiac clinics” at two of Melbourne’s leading teaching hospitals, where he continues to see patients as a consultant gastroenterologist.

Dr Anderson founded and is currently Chairman of the Board of the Coeliac Research Fund, a charity established to raise awareness, lead health professional education and support research in coeliac disease. In this capacity, Dr Anderson has initiated educational campaigns for family doctors and specialists in Australia and New Zealand. Dr Anderson is a consultant to several diagnostics companies in the United States, and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Maryland.

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to meet Dr. Anderson and learn about the latest developments in celiac disease research! To join NFCA and Dr. Anderson on May 1st at the 2009 Washington DC Gluten-Free Cooking Spree, purchase tickets on NFCA’s website today.