QLS Seminar - Meghan Azad

Milk, Microbes and Models: Studying Human Milk and the Infant Microbiome as a Biological System

Meghan Azad, University of Manitoba
Tuesday January 24, 12-1pm
Zoom Link: https://mcgill.zoom.us/j/86855481591

Abstract: Breast milk is an extraordinary ‘superfood’, providing all of the nutrients a baby needs, in exactly the right combination. It changes over time as the baby grows, and responds to the mother and baby’s environment. Breast milk is also the ultimate ‘personalized medicine’, providing protection against infections during infancy, and lowering the risk of asthma and obesity later in childhood. These incredible properties of breast milk are related to its bioactive components, including live bacteria and specialized sugars that help ‘seed and feed’ the baby’s gut microbiome. Dr. Azad’s THRiVE Discovery Lab is taking a multidisciplinary systems biology approach to model and understand how breastfeeding and human milk shape the infant microbiome and contribute to infant growth, child development and lifelong health.