Scott P. Commins, MD, PhD

Dr. Commins sees patients in the UNC allergy clinic and maintains an active research laboratory. His primary research and clinical interest is alpha-gal syndrome (“red meat allergy”). This unique food allergy appears to be brought on by tick bites and can develop at any time throughout life, even after many years of enjoying beef, pork or lamb. Patients develop an allergic response to the sugar alpha-gal and the resulting allergic reactions are often delayed 3-6 hours after eating mammalian meat. Dr. Commins often sees patients in the allergy clinic with difficult to diagnose food allergies or allergic reactions. In the research laboratory, the primary question being investigated is the role of the skin and resident cells, including mast cells and basophils, in allergic immune responses. We explore this overarching theme through the lens of alpha-gal syndrome.