Michelle received the first prize in the SPHD award, which is given annually to two medical Master’s theses with public health relevance in Switzerland. Her Master’s thesis, entitled "The Prevalence of Allergic Sensitization and Predominant Allergens in Children included in the Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC)", focused on allergic sensitization in children with respiratory diseases. Michelle analyzed data from 888 children who visited pediatric respiratory clinics in Switzerland and participated in the Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC), led by Claudia Kuehni at ISPM Bern. Michelle found that 63% of the participants had allergic sensitization to at least one of the tested allergens. Her findings will contribute to a better understanding of how allergy tests can be used in the diagnosis of asthma in children, and which allergens might be most informative.
