Dr. Joneja began her academic career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Canada. She specialized in oral microbiology and immunology and taught courses in the Department of Microbiology, and in the Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dental Surgery.
In 1978-79 Dr. Joneja spent a year at the University of Colorado Medical Sciences Center and the Webb-Waring Lung Institute in Denver, Colorado, where she conducted research in oral immunology and taught classes in oral microbiology.
Her early training in the immunology of allergy at the University of Birmingham, and later her experience at the University of Colorado Medical School, and her research and teaching in oral microbiology and immunology, led directly to Dr. Joneja’s interest in the immunology of allergy of the mouth and digestive tract. She wrote her first book “Understanding Allergy, Sensitivity and Immunity: A Comprehensive Guide”, which was published by Rutgers University Press in 1990, as a result. This consequently developed into an absorbing interest in the immunology of food allergy. which, at the time, was very poorly understood This interest was intensified when her two children demonstrated unequivocal signs of severe allergy to foods more or less from birth, but were denied a proper diagnosis as a consequence of the prevailing medical attitude that pediatric food allergy was a product of a neurotic mother’s misperceptions.
In 1986 Dr. Joneja began her research into the causes and management of food allergy, and in order to increase her effectiveness in her chosen field she qualified as a registered dietitian (RD) in 1990. She has been conducting research, practicing clinical dietetics, and teaching in the field of adverse reactions to foods ever since.
As the subject of food allergy management gains recognition as an important, albeit specialized, field in the practice of nutrition and dietetics, the need for credit courses in universities and colleges offering dietetics degrees is beginning to be felt. Dr. Joneja has presented a number of such courses in teaching institutions internationally, most frequently in Canada, the U.S.A., and Great Britain.
Universities and college departments who would be interested in offering courses in food allergy and intolerance management for their students are invited to contact Dr. Joneja at
