Congratulations to THRiVE Lab and MILC co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, on being announced as the 2023 Janet Rossant Lecturer at the Massey College. The Janet Rossant Lectureship was established in 2018 at Massey College in recognition of Dr. Rossant’s distinguished career as a scientist, scholar, builder and mentor of young scientists. Date to be determined.

THRiVE lab and MILC co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, speaks with CTV News Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Free Press on the benefits of breast milk and how the research being conducted by Dr. Azad and colleagues is focusing on examining breast milk as a biological system, understanding all of its components, and how it can have implications for public policy that supports breastfeeding mothers and makes babies healthier. More information about the news coverage can be found on CTV News Winnipeg and Winnipeg Free Press websites. 

THRiVE Discovery lab and MILC co-directors, Dr. Meghan Azad and Natalie Rodriguez, receive a grant of US$2.5 million from the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH), the national medical research agency in the United States. Since NIH prioritizes research in the US, only uniquely qualified Canadian researchers are awarded this grant. This grant will fund the five-year Multi-omics Milk (MuMi) Study. This MuMi study aims to leverage and unite two well-established human milk research platforms: the International Milk Composition (IMiC) Consortium, a network of researchers and data scientists co-led by Dr. Azad and Rodriguez, and the CHILD Cohort Study, a project deputy-directed by Dr. Azad that is following a large cohort of Canadian children born in 2009-12, to investigate human milk and its determinants and health impacts among 1600 mother-infant dyads using a novel multi-omics approach. Read more about it in the news from the UM Today Network here.

THRiVE lab and MILC co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, was interviewed on the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) radio Babytalk podcast in 2021. In this podcast, Dr. Azad highlighted the importance of breastmilk as an incredible source of nutrition for the baby and how her research on the developmental origins of chronic diseases is exploring the influence of breastmilk on the future health of the babies. Listen to the full podcast here.

THRiVE lab masters student and MILC member, Spencer Ames, and colleagues published "Comparing early life nutritional sources and human milk feeding practices: personalized and dynamic nutrition supports infant gut microbiome development and immune system maturation" in Gut Microbes. This review article synthesizes evidence from human studies and model systems to discuss the impact of different nutritional sources on co-development of gut microbiome, antigen tolerance and immunity via mechanisms including epigenetics and the "weaning reaction". Follow the link to the full article [PDF] and check out Dr. Azad's [Tweetorial] on Twitter.

Results of the international Perinatal Outcomes in the Pandemic (iPOP) Study, published in Nature Human Behaviour this month, received media coverage in the New York Times and CityNews. The iPOP Study was co-led by THRiVE co-Directors Meghan Azad and Natalie Rodriguez, along with THRiVE Postdoc Merilee Brockway, and colleagues from Australia and the UK.

THRiVE Lab members and colleagues published results of the International Perinatal Outcomes in the Pandemic (iPOP) Study in Nature Human Behaviour this week. With over 100 co-authors, the iPOP Study investigated associations between early COVID-19 pandemic response measures ('lockdowns') and preterm birth rates, using harmonized data from 52 million births in 26 countries. The iPOP Study was co-led by THRiVE co-directors, Dr. Meghan Azad and Natalie Rodriguez, along with THRiVE Postdoc, Merilee Brockway, and colleagues from Australia and the UK. Read more on the CHRIM News Archive. Read the full article [PDF] and check out Dr. Azad's [Tweetorial] on Twitter.

Congratulations to THRiVE co-Director, Natalie Rodriguez, on being the winner of the 2023 Michelle Harkness Mentorship Award! The award was created to honor the memory of Michelle Harkness, AllerGen’s Manager of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) Training and Events. It recognizes and supports trainees, researchers and others working in airways and allergic disease who demonstrate a significant commitment to promoting capacity building, career enhancement and personal growth through mentorship. 

THRiVE lab members, Sarah Turner and Dr. Meghan Azad, contributed to a brief prepared by the MILC Club and submitted to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Women's Health. The brief provides recommendations to the government on how to improve maternal, child and population health by fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships that support innovation, discovery, knowledge mobilization and policy development focused on human milk and infant feeding. Download the full document here.