University of Manitoba researchers have received a prestigious US$2.5-million grant to study how breast milk affects health outcomes.
“There’s many mysteries to unlock, I think, in breast milk that could have applications well beyond infant health, although certainly in our projects, infant health is the main priority,” said study lead Meghan Azad, a professor of pediatrics and child health who holds the Canada Research Chair in developmental origins of chronic disease.
A team of 12 researchers at U of M is working on this study, and Azad co-directs the U of M’s Thrive Discovery Lab with Natalie Rodriguez. They’re examining breast milk as a biological system and trying to better understand all of its components. The research could have implications, Azad hopes, for public policy that supports breastfeeding mothers and makes babies healthier.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES “There’s many mysteries to unlock, I think, in breast milk that could have applications well beyond infant health, although certainly in our projects, infant health is the main priority,” said study lead Meghan Azad, a professor of pediatrics and child health.
The work is being funded by a U.S. government research agency, the National Institutes of Health, because of the Manitoba team’s access to thousands of breast milk samples, research network, and years of expertise that could translate into a better understanding of breast milk science around the world.
The U.S. agency only grants funding to non-U.S. researchers when their work can’t be replicated in the U.S.
The five-year study, called the Multi-omic Milk (MuMi) Study, involves analysis of about 2,800 milk samples that were collected in 2010 as part of a Canadian Child Cohort study of 3,500 families from four provinces.
Having access to that kind of data over a long period is unique, Azad said.
“The children are now 13 years old, and we’re still following them, so that’s really unique as a resource.”
The data will be analyzed by several partners elsewhere, including with artificial intelligence technology at Stanford University.
Azad is also a co-investigator on a four-year study of breast milk for the University of Toronto. That project, which received a US$2-million grant from the National Institutes of Health, is focused on the nutritional effect of breast milk on premature babies.
In February 2020, Azad’s team at U of M received a $6.5-million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to establish an international milk composition consortium.
The work, which was delayed by the pandemic, has been extended into 2024. As part of that study, the Manitoba team receives breast milk samples from other parts of the world, including African countries. They’re looking at expanding it to include samples from early lactation, as a way to gather more data on infant nutrition.
Greater research into breast milk will have an impact all over the world, Azad said, for different reasons.
In Africa, the researchers are focused on breast milk as a means for survival. In Canada and western countries, they’re looking at connections to conditions such as obesity and allergies.
They are “at the forefront of advancing how we understand breast milk as a system, and really moving to the next level of understanding this kind of miracle food,” Azad said.
