About Us
This platform was created by the FAMP-IT team at Mass General Brigham for Children’s Food Allergy Advocacy, Education, and Prevention Program, made possible with special help from content contributors, reviewers, and funders. Thank you to all for joining us in our mission to both prevent food allergies from developing in infants and help families manage their children’s food allergies when they do develop.
For more information about FAMP-IT, our efforts, and our goals, check out this FAACT Roundtable podcast episode – Inside FAMP-IT: A New Resource for Families and Clinicians.
FAMP-IT Team
Michael Pistiner, MD, MMSc – Project Lead
Dr. Michael Pistiner is a pediatric allergist who specializes in caring for infants and young children with food allergies. He is Director of Food Allergy Advocacy, Education and Prevention at Mass General Brigham for Children and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
His work focuses on helping families prevent, recognize, and manage food allergies with clear, practical, and evidence-based guidance. He is committed to partnering with families and healthcare providers to support safe, coordinated care.
Dr. Pistiner leads the development and programming of FAMP-IT (Food Allergy Management and Prevention Platform for Infants and Toddlers), which provides tools and resources to help families and clinicians work together to care for young children with food allergies.
Dr. Pistiner is an active member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), contributing to national efforts to advance food allergy care, education, and advocacy.
Sandra Rosenbluth, MS – Project Manager
Sandra Rosenbluth, MS, has spent more than a decade as a Digital Health Communications Specialist, promoting the importance of clear, engaging health messaging across digital platforms. She believes that health information must be accurate and evidence-based while also being tailored to its audience, embracing the principles of health literacy and cultural competency. As the mother of a child with peanut allergy, Sandra brings both professional expertise and personal perspective to her work. Supporting FAMP-IT for families and clinicians is truly a passion project, driven by her commitment to making trustworthy, accessible information available to the communities who need it most.
Samantha Yap, BS – Project Coordinator
Samantha Yap, BS, works closely with Dr. Pistiner to support clinical research projects, educational projects, and digital content development. She has supported the development of FAMP-IT through coordinating research and educational activities, contributing to ongoing program development, and ensuring that FAMP-IT.org remains current, accessible, and responsive to the needs of both families and clinicians.
Penelope (Penny) Juarez, BA – Project Coordinator
Penny Juarez, BA, is currently working as a research technician at Creighton University. Penny graduated from Wellesley College in 2025, where she studied Biology and was a member of the varsity field hockey team. Penny is a current volunteer in the Food Allergy Buddies program, where she helps those with food allergies. She has lived with food allergies all her life and is passionate about being part of the FAMP-IT team, specifically focusing on leveraging community programs, such as WIC, to increase knowledge about early allergen introduction.
Visual Velocity – Web and Video Design
Visual Velocity is a creative team of illustrators, designers, editors, and animators who have collaborated for more than twenty years to translate complex medical information into clear, engaging educational content. By combining visual storytelling with medical accuracy, they help healthcare teams demystify conditions and treatments, empowering patients and families to better understand their diagnoses and participate confidently in their care.
Thank You
Allergy & Asthma Network
Allergy & Asthma Network provided grant funding, content development, and technical support to make FAMP-IT Family website possible. Key staff supporting the project were:
Lynda Mitchell – CEO
Gary Fitzgerald – Senior Editor and Content Strategist
Kortney Kwong Hing – Copywriting
Marcela Gieminiani – Spanish Translations
Kolleen Shallcross – Web Development
Content Contributers
Edric Ramirez-Valdez, MB BChir (Cantab), is a Pediatrics Resident at Mass General Brigham for Children. He trained at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and now practices in the United States, bringing a global perspective to pediatric care. As an aspiring Allergy and Immunology specialist, Edric is dedicated to improving quality of life for young patients through practical, patient-centered care. He contributes to FAMP-IT with a focus on translating complex clinical guidelines into clear, accessible tools that support both clinicians and families in managing food allergies and anaphylaxis with confidence.
Sophia Whitcomb is a sophomore at the University of Central Florida, where she is pursuing a path toward becoming a nurse practitioner. She brings both personal experience and a strong commitment to advocacy to her work in food allergy education and awareness. Having lived with food allergies for over 16 years, Sophia is passionate about supporting families and individuals navigating similar experiences. Through her involvement with FAMP-IT, she contributes to efforts that promote food allergy prevention and help expand access to reliable, practical resources for communities. Her work is driven by a desire to give back and to help ensure that families feel informed, supported, and empowered in managing food allergies.
Penelope (Penny) Juarez, BA, is currently working as a research technician at Creighton University. Penny graduated from Wellesley College in 2025, where she studied Biology and was a member of the varsity field hockey team. Penny is a current volunteer in the Food Allergy Buddies program, where she helps those with food allergies. She has lived with food allergies all her life and is passionate about being part of the FAMP-IT team, specifically focusing on leveraging community programs, such as WIC, to increase knowledge about early allergen introduction.
Sydney Pompei
Sara Anvari, MD, MSc, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and a specialist in pediatric food allergy and immunology at Texas Children’s Hospital. She is recognized for her research and clinical expertise in Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES) and other IgE and non-IgE mediated food allergies. Dr. Anvari leads clinical and translational research focused on improving the diagnosis, management, and understanding of FPIES across pediatric and adult populations.
Molly Murphy, MSN, RN is currently in the Boston College Connell School of Nursing — DNP Student (Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program). She grew up in the Boston area and completed the direct-entry Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program at Boston College, where she earned her RN license. She works as a nurse at Woburn Pediatrics, a pediatric primary care office, where she sees firsthand the need for more dermatology and allergy resources in pediatric settings. Through her clinical experiences in pediatric primary care and her work with children with complex needs, she has developed a strong interest in improving early identification and management of food allergies. She joined this project to help address gaps in education and resources for families and providers caring for infants and toddlers at risk for allergic conditions.
Ashley Martino RN, MSN is current in the Boston College, Connell School of Nursing program. She is a registered nurse currently pursuing a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) with a pediatric focus. Over her six years in the medical field, she has gained diverse experience as a nursing assistant and ophthalmic technician; she now serves as a pediatric nurse at Walker Therapeutic and Educational Programs, specializing in care for children with neurodevelopmental and mood disorders. She is honored to focus her doctoral project on infant and toddler food allergies—a field of growing importance due to the rising prevalence of allergies in this age group. As a future provider, she believes mastering the management of these conditions is essential for delivering high-quality, comprehensive care in a primary care setting.
Alicia Mastroianni, MSN, RN is currently a Boston College Doctor of Nursing Practice Candidate in the pediatric track. She has worked in pediatric health care for over 8 years. Most of her time outside of school has been spent in a pediatric primary care office, where she has come to love the continuity of care, the opportunity to watch patients grow up, and the family feel of a small practice. She has also had the opportunity to work in the Boston Children’s Hospital NICU alongside an amazing team working with high acuity infants. She is especially interested in infant and toddler food allergies because this is such an important area of pediatric care, yet it can sometimes be pushed off until later childhood. It has become clear that prevention and early action during infancy and toddlerhood can make a real difference in reducing food allergy risk. That makes this work feel both timely and meaningful. She was also excited to join this project because dermatology is her second love within pediatrics, so the focus on eczema care has been especially interesting and informative for her.
C. Elizabeth Keleher, MSN, RN is currently pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) with a Family Nurse Practitioner specialization at Boston College. She graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a bachelor’s degree in Biology on the Pre-Health track. She went on to earn a Master of Science in Nursing from Boston College. Her clinical and professional experience includes serving as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) since 2021, where she has worked in the Departments of Gastroenterology and Immunotherapy Toxicities. In addition, she practices as a Registered Nurse at the Allergy and Asthma Center of Massachusetts in Chestnut Hill, where she cares for both pediatric and adult patients. Her responsibilities include conducting allergy testing and pulmonary function testing, as well as managing food allergies, seasonal allergies, asthma, and atopic conditions such as eczema. She is passionate about improving patient outcomes through early intervention and evidence-based practice. Collaborating with an interdisciplinary team on the prevention of food allergies and the management of atopic dermatitis has been incredibly rewarding, and she looks forward to the lasting impact it will have on pediatric allergy care.
Content Reviewers
National WIC Association
Manisha Relan, MD, FAAP, FAAAAI, FACAAI, is a double board-certified pediatric allergist and clinical immunologist in New York, where she works in a private practice setting. She is an advocate for food allergy prevention (to the best of our ability) and plant-based eating. She is the author of “Baby Leads the Way,” published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the pediatric allergist on the baby-led feeding team of “101 Before One.” She has a passion for education and is on social media via Instagram @pedsallergymd.
Elena B. Hawryluk, MD, PhD
Marion Groetch, MS, RDN
David M. Fleischer, MD is the Section Head of Allergy & Immunology at Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHCO) and a Professor of Pediatrics at CHCO and the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. He is the Director of the Allergy and Immunology Center at CHCO. Dr. Fleischer is a nationally and internationally renowned food allergy expert, and his clinical research has focused on the natural history and novel treatments of food allergy, including oral, sublingual, and epicutaneous immunotherapies. He has authored many original, peer-reviewed articles, review articles, and book chapters on food allergy and food allergy treatment. Dr. Fleischer completed his undergraduate training at the University of Pennsylvania, medical degree training at Emory University School of Medicine, and both Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Allergy/Immunology Fellowship training at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Lynda Schneider, MD
Funding
National Peanut Board
Kenvue
