Vale Patricia Ilhan

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) is deeply saddened by the passing of Patricia Ilhan on 18 June. Patricia died at 62 from cancer following years of giving tied to her family’s experience with severe food allergies. 

Inspired by her daughter's treenut allergy, Patricia dedicated her life to medical research and advocacy. 

Through her Foundation, she was a long-time supporter of MCRI’s allergy research program, including a number of clinical trials and population-based cohort studies - the VITALITY Trial, TreEAT study, Low Dose Multi-Nut Oral Immunotherapy in Pre-schoolers (LMNOP) Pilot Trial, the HealthNuts and EarlyNuts studies.

Funded by the Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation and published in 2011, HealthNuts research showed one in 10 Australian infants were diagnosed with food allergy at 12 months, which is the highest rate globally. The findings signalled allergic disease was one of Australia’s fastest growing chronic conditions and have helped shape the national and international response. 

The Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation and the Gandel Foundation also formed a joint partnership to support Alfred Hospital research that developed a vaccine, which may help treat peanut allergy. 

The research led to the launch of the ARAVAX AVX-201 Study, testing whether the PVX108 peptide immunotherapy reduces peanut allergy symptoms in children and teens. Trial centres across Australia and the United States, including MCRI, have recruited 95 children aged four to 17 years with peanut allergy with analysis underway.

Image: The late Patricia Ilhan and Brendan Fleiter of The Australian Food Allergy Foundation with MCRI Population Allergy Group Leader Professor Kirsten Perrett.

John and Patricia Ilhan founded the Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation in 2006 after their daughter suffered an anaphylactic reaction and was diagnosed with tree nut allergy.

In March 2015, it became the Australian Food Allergy Foundation Ltd and funded scientific research aimed at improving the lives of people living with anaphylaxis and food allergies. It also raised awareness about the issues surrounding anaphylaxis and the resources available to help manage this potentially life-threatening condition. 

The Centre for Paediatric Allergies was launched in August 2018 as a joint project between the Australian Food Allergy Foundation, Epworth HealthCare and Epworth Medical Foundation.

The Centre, which Patricia sat on the Board of, was created to expand her Foundation’s impact into direct patient care and hospital-based research.

Patricia was also a patron of various medical institutions, most notably the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

She is survived by her four adult children Yasmin, Hannah, Jaida and Aydin, her stepdaughter Makenzi and her second husband, Chris Blackman.

Patricia will be dearly missed by her family, friends and the communities she touched. 

Read more about MCRI’s allergy research that Patricia supported over many years.