Understanding Allergies London 2025

Understanding Allergies London 2025 is your chance to delve into the world of allergies in the heart of London! Join us for an exciting in-person event where you can learn all about different types of allergies, their causes, and how to manage them effectively. Whether you suffer from allergies yourself or simply want to expand your knowledge, this event is perfect for everyone. Don't miss out on this opportunity to connect with experts in the field and gain valuable insights that can help you or your loved ones lead a healthier life. See you there!

If you can't make it in person, don't worry you can join on line.

Head to our website where you can view our last event lineup https://www.sadiebristowfoundation.org.uk/allergy-support/understanding-allergies-2025/

Specialists within the field of allergy will be there to answer questions in panel discussions, workshops and presentations.

What to expect, and Who is coming?

Also we are thrilled to welcome back:

Natlalie from The Allergy Badge, she will be there to provide guidance and training on keeping your child safe in school.

Adam Orzel our proud Ambassador who travels as part of the Great British Ski Team.

Dr Helen Evans-Howells - GP with a specialist role in Allergy

Dr Francesca Sawyer - Clinical Psychologist specialising in Allergies

Professor Helen Brough - Leading Paediatric Allergy Specialist Guy's and St Thomas's and Kings College London

New Speakers

Professor Adam Fox - Professor of Paediatric Allergy at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital

Leman Mutlu - Expert Adult Allergist and Immunologist

Julianne Ponan - Founder and CEO of Creative Nature

Scroll down for the bios of all confirmed speakers.

This event is aimed at parents and families in fact anyone who has a child in their care.

If your an education provider, a children’s centre, a playgroup, a foster parent with an allergic child, an after-school club or Brownie/Scout leader, this event will help you manage and support those children in your care.

Allergies affect 1 in 10 children, this is set to increase year on year.

Research shows allergies are effecting more and more people across the globe, however services in the UK are not consistant across counties, they are deemed a postcode lottery.

More training needs to be provided and more jobs created so our children can get the best chance in life.. to not feel excluded, to not feel isolated and not to be bullied.

Clare Bristow will be there. A family having lost a child to anaphylaxis and still living with a child with severe allergies.

Clare Bristow is the dedicated Co-Founder and CEO of the Sadie Bristow Foundation, a charitable organisation committed to supporting and advocating for individuals living with allergies. With a passion for making a difference, Clare has spent over 5 years raising awareness, and working tirelessly to ensure those with allergies receive the care and support they deserve.

Clare holds a Master's degree in Philanthropic Studies, which has equipped her with the knowledge and expertise needed to create a lasting impact in the world of philanthropy. Her commitment to learning is exemplified by her current pursuit of a qualification in fundraising, a testament to her continuous dedication to improving her skills and knowledge.

An excellent speaker and educator, Clare is passionate about sharing her insights and knowledge to inspire change and foster empathy. She firmly believes that every person has the right to the proper care and support necessary for a healthy and fulfilling life. Through her work with the Sadie Bristow Foundation, she's working to make this belief a reality, one step at a time.

The SBF was set up after their daughter Sadie died of an anaphylactic reaction in 2018. Sadie was the UK’s no1 tennis player at the age of 9. Their aim is to help other families on their journey with allergies whilst spreading awareness and one day be able to say we now have a full service within Kent.

If you'd like to see some of the talks from last year you can see them

https://www.sadiebristowfoundation.org.uk/allergy-support/online-resources/

If you and your family want to come we are offering buy one and get one free.

Adam read Medicine at Cambridge University. From 2006, he spent 9 years as clinical lead for Allergy (Adult & Paediatric) at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospitals, London. After 3 years as Clinical Director for Specialist Ambulatory Medicine, he took up the post of Deputy Medical Director (Commercial) for Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2018 until 2023. He is also a Professor of Paediatric Allergy at King’s College London and the founding Director of the KCL Allergy Academy, a postgraduate educational programme, which was a finalist at the BMJ Awards in 2018.

Adam was elected as President of the British Society of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, the first Paediatrician to hold this position, from October 2018 until 2021, after which he took on the role of Chair of the National Allergy Strategy Group from July 2022. As part of this, he jointly chairs the Expert Advisory Group for Allergy with the Department of Health & Social Care and is lead for the National Allergy Strategy.

Adam was awarded ‘Paediatric Allergist of the Year’ from Allergy UK in 2007. His doctoral thesis on peanut allergy received the Raymond Horton Smith prize from Cambridge University in 2012 and he was included in The Times ‘Britain’s 100 Best Children’s Doctor’s’.  Adam received the William Frankland Award for Outstanding contribution to Allergy in 2015 and a Department of Health National Clinical Excellence award from the in 2016 and 2020. In 2024, Adam became only the second person to receive the BSACI Fellows Award in recognition of outstanding contribution to clinical allergy.

Together with two colleagues he established The Food Allergy Immunotherapy Centre at Great Ormond St Hospital in 2021, where he initiated the first patient in the world, outside of the US, on Palforzia (the first licenced food allergy desensitisation product). The centre offers oral immunotherapy for multiple foods. www.thefoodallergyimmunotherapycentre.com

Dr Helen Evans-Howells qualified with honours from Southampton University in 2005 and then trained as a GP, completing this in 2015. Helen became interested in allergy due to her own experiences of managing a child with milk and nut allergies. She undertook the Masters in Allergy at Southampton University and qualified with distinction in 2018.

After working with the allergy team in Southampton Hospital for 4.5years, Helen now runs a private allergy clinic –www.drhelenallergy.co.uk, which provides virtual and face to face allergy consultations. Dr Helen lectures extensively across the UK and internationally. Helen has the only community clinic outside of London which offers food immunotherapy to children under 6, and she also helps run the peanut immunotherapy clinic at Southampton Hospital. Dr Helen has an allergy centre in Ringwood and branch clinic in Belfast. The

Dr Helen works tirelessly to support those with food allergies, sending up an online support group and membership, developing an EATS club (eating allergens together safely) to support families with the introduction of allergens in a supervised setting (for those that are nervous /have others with allergies in the family), and working closely with charity.

Helen was the previous chair for the primary care group of British Society of Allergy and is now a trustee for the Anaphylaxis UK Charity and Chair of their Clinical and Scientific panel.

Helen has appeared on The Jeremy Vine Extra show on Channel 5,BBC Radio, the Today Program and has written for various newspaper articles, raising awareness about allergies and anaphylaxis.

Helen runs a free private Facebook group to provide further support to patients and families struggling with allergies; 

www.facebook.com/groups/allergysupportwithdrhelenallergy/

Dr Francesca Sawer

@drfrancescas

Francesca is an experienced clinical psychologist specialising in paediatrics, currently working at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.  

Her values as a clinical psychologist are to work with young people and their families to empower them and equip them with skills, tools, strategies and insights to manage all aspects of their emotional wellbeing and mental health and gain confidence in navigating life’s challenges and hurdles.  

Francesca is also hugely passionate about working with children and families with allergies, having previously led the psychology team at the Children’s Allergy Service at the Evelina Children’s Hospital, which is the largest allergy service in Europe. 

Since then, having been shocked by how little psychology support is available throughout the UK for children with allergies, she has remained hugely involved in the field, working with both the Sadie Bristow foundation as a specialist advisor as well as continuing to support hundreds of families along with Dr Helen Allergy through memberships, short courses and her 1:1 work in private practice. 

Julianne is a pioneer in the free-from world. She was diagnosed with severe anaphylaxis at two years old, she has multiple allergies to all peanuts, treenuts, sesame, chickpeas and more. She is the founder and CEO of Creative Nature a Top 14 allergen free brand, through her own experiences and challenges living with allergies she focused on Creative Nature to be at the forefront of ‘free from’ innovation, pushing the boundaries and launching a range of free from foods with good nutrition from baking to snacks! In recognition of her outstanding contributions to business, exports, and aiding individuals with allergies, Julianne was honoured with an MBE in the New Year's Kings Honours.

Creative Nature has grown from strength to strength driving change for free-from food in the aviation industry, launching products on board Virgin Atlantic, Iberia, KLM and more. The brand is also into Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Tesco, Asda, Tesco exports to 16 countries including the UAE.

Julianne is a pioneer for ensuring air travel is for everyone and that everyone deserves to eat on board a flight working with many airlines on the education of catering for people with allergies on board.

Julianne also serves as a Non-Executive Director for GS1 UK and holds the position of Export Policy Champion for the FSB. Beyond her corporate roles, Julianne is a passionate advocate for those with allergies, striving to improve their lives and reduce stress associated with their conditions, she is regularly featured on BBC, Sky News.  She has spoken at the Houses of Parliament, been a guest judge on Britain’s Next Top Model, is a judge for the Free From Food Awards and more recently Julianne has just been appointed as the first Medic Alert ambassador in 65 years. Medic Alert is a charity that saves lives through their medical id’s.

As a qualified trainer, Natalie runs the accredited training provider, The Allergy Badge, delivering training and workshops to businesses, schools, nurseries and parents and carers across the UK. The comprehensive sessions are built, not only on key information, but her own experiences as a mum to Ella – who has life-threatening food allergies herself.

Natalie also works as a consultant for brands across various industries providing everything from allergy awareness workshops and auditing through to guest speaking, marketing and events. She has delivered sessions to businesses including Jaguar Land Rover, Pip & Nut, Tesco, Saputo (Vitalite, Cathedral City, Frylight), supported charities such as The Sadie Bristow Foundation and The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation and built courses for High Speed Training.

Natalie is tireless in her pursuit of raising awareness around allergies, and was recognised at the 2024 Best Business Awards. She hopes that her career experience and being an ‘allergy parent’ will allow her to bring unique insights and help others on their allergy journey.

Professor Helen Brough

MA (Hons) MSc PhD MBBS FRCPCH FAAAAI

Professor Helen Brough

MA (Hons) MSc PhD MBBS FRCPCH FAAAAI

Helen Brough is a Consultant in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at the Evelina Children’s Hospital, St. Thomas’ Hospital and Professor of Pediatric Allergy at King’s College London University.

She co-leads the transition and joint allergy respiratory service at the Children’s Allergy Service, Evelina Children’s Hospital, St. Thomas’ Hospital and was the Head of Service from 2015 to 2023.

Helen is the Medical Advisor for the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation and is on the Health Advisory Board for the Patient Advocacy charity Allergy UK. She was the President of the Royal Society of Medicine Allergy and Immunology Section from 2022-2024. She was the Chair/Past Chair of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) Pediatric Section from 2019-2022.

She also runs a private allergy service as the Founder and Director of Children’s Allergy Doctors, which specializing in eczema, food allergy prevention and desensitization (oral immunotherapy), allergic rhinitis management and hayfever desensitisation and asthma.

She was awarded the ‘Health Professional of the Year’ runner-up by Coeliac UK in 2010, the Barry Kay award from the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI) in 2013, and the Distinguished Clinician Award by the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology (AAAAI) in 2020.

Helen's research interests are in food allergy prevention and management. She is a Principal Investigator for the Stopping Eczema and Allergy (SEAL) study assessing whether proactive skin care in young infants with dry skin or eczema prevents the development of food allergy, the Pronuts study evaluating selective nut eating in nut allergic children, and the Global Assessment of Psychology Services for Food Allergy (GAPS) study. She was a co-investigator on several peanut oral and patch immunotherapy trials. She co-authored the European guidelines for the management of atopic eczema, and the food allergy prevention studies Learning Early About Peanut (LEAP, LEAP-ON, LEAP-Trio) and Enquiring About Tolerance (EAT) study.

Leman Mutlu Immunology/Allergy Consultant East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust 

Leman Mutlu is a Consultant based at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust. Dr Mutlu attended medical school near Istanbul, Turkey and completed postgraduate research training in the USA and Germany, after which she settled in the UK and started clinical postgraduate training. Dr Mutlu completed internal medicine training in Liverpool in 2010 and Immunology and Allergy training in Birmingham in 2023. Following specialist Immunology and Allergy training, Dr Mutlu was appointed as a Consultant in East Kent Hospitals to set-up services there. She is a steering committee member and patient group liaison representative of the national clinical immunology network and also member of the British society of allergy and clinical immunology. She is passionate about empowering patients and sees them as major stakeholders in management of disease. She is also a mum and is delighted to team up with Clare and the Bristow family to continue building a great legacy for Sadie within and beyond Kent.

My name is Adam Orzel and I am a British ski racer. I am 16 and live in Birmingham. Last year I was selected for the British Children’s Ski team and represented GB in a number of international children’s races. I have just moved up to international FIS racing, which is the single world wide ranking system, and my goal for the season is to get re-selected for the British FIS team at the end of this year. I have a very severe nut allergy which makes skiing much harder as I spend 12-16 weeks per year travelling round Europe with my ski team, with constantly changing languages between countries that make it very difficult to read ingredients. As food brands are different in Europe compared to the UK I have had to learn what is safe to eat and what isn’t. The further challenge is that as an athlete with a physically demanding schedule, getting the right fuelling for my body to ensure I am in peak form is essential. However most specialist sports bars available in supermarkets contain nuts, limiting me to what I have easy access to. In my ski team there have also been others I’ve trained with that are Coeliac or have Lactose allergies and with the right planning everything is possible and just shows that an allergy doesn’t stop you following your dreams.