Salk Press Releases
Why does the body deem some foods safe and others unsafe?
LA JOLLA—In little moments like when sipping coffee or licking an ice cream cone, it doesn’t seem like your body is pulling off a biological miracle. But it is. That cookie is not you—yet when you put it in your mouth, your body is able to tolerate it and process it without any detriment to your health in a process called oral tolerance. How does the human body make that decision between tolerance and rejection?
Immunologist Jamie Blum joins Salk faculty to study the immune system’s response to food
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute will welcome immunologist Jamie Blum as a NOMIS Assistant Professor in September 2025. Blum investigates how the immune system interprets what we eat—specifically, why some foods trigger harmful allergic responses while others are accepted as safe.