Sarah McKenzie knows the deadly potential of food allergies all too well. Her young son, Gunner, has a peanut allergy, and while the family is attentive, the smallest mistake can endanger him. Like the time she ate a peanut butter cookie and hours later triggered a life-threatening reaction in her son with a simple kiss. 

In the ER he recovered, but they live in constant fear of the next time his allergies take over. But Professor Basar Bilgicer hopes to make allergies, and the accompanying anxiety and trauma, a thing of the past. For an aspiration that large, he had to start small. Biomolecular small.

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Originally published by Brandi Klingerman at research.nd.edu on September 09, 2016.