Rudolf Valenta is Professor for Allergology at the Medical University of Vienna. He was among the first to elucidate the molecular structures of the disease-causing allergens by molecular cloning. He then focused his research on the development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for allergic patients, demonstrating that recombinant allergens can be used for molecular allergy diagnosis, a work which has initiated a paradigm shift in allergy towards personalized medicine. This discovery introduces preventive medical examination in early childhood as a basis for allergy prevention. Based on the knowledge of the disease-eliciting allergen molecules, Rudolf Valenta developed new forms of molecular allergy vaccines for the treatment of allergic patients and was the first to demonstrate that molecular vaccines are effective for therapeutic approaches. He currently works on prophylactic vaccination against allergy.
