The 2024 Canada Gairdner Momentum Award is an initiative of The Gairdner Foundation, recognizing some of the world’s most significant biomedical and global health research and discoveries. Laureates are mid-career investigators recognized for exceptional scientific research contributions with continued potential for impact on human health. THRiVE Director Dr. Meghan Azad is a recipient this year "for research on understanding how human breast milk contributes to shaping the infant microbiome and lifelong health." The award recognizes more than a decade of collaborative research involving partners across Canada and around the world. A virtual announcement was held today, and a week of celebrations will be held later this year. Read more from UM Today or watch the profile video from the Gairdner Foundation.
On April 4, the new five-year Strategic Plan for the University of Manitoba was launched. Attendees at the launch party had the opportunity to engage with diverse research initiatives. The THRiVE Discovery Lab and MILC were invited to showcase our collaborative research platform. MILC member, Carol Dyck, as well as THRiVE students, Narges Khodabandehloo and Sarah Turner, hosted a booth to promote our research program and breastfeeding support initiatives to the wider UM community. For more information about the new strategic plan, please click here.
THRiVE co-director, Meghan Azad, was featured on University of Manitoba Ask an Expert Series. Dr. Azad addressed the question "What are the Health Benefits of Breastfeeding" - not just for babies, but also for mothers, families and society as a whole. The video was filmed at the Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC), a Biorepository and Research Centre located at the Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM). Also featured in the video were THRiVE Research Associate Larisa Lotoski and Senior Data Analyst Kelsey Fehr. View the full video here.
THRiVE co-director Dr. Meghan Azad was recently featured on Season 2 of "What's the Big Idea?", a podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. The discussion focused on Dr. Azad's research about breastmilk and infant nutrition in Canada and globally, and how this impacts policy decisions and our understanding of human health. At the foundation of this research is the Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC), a biorepository and research center storing more than 2000 breastmilk samples from mothers across the globe. Listen to full podcast here.
THRiVE members published "Examining psychosocial pathways to explain the link between breastfeeding practices and child behavior in a longitudinal cohort" in BMC Public Health. The study found that multiple breastfeeding metrics (eg. expressed breastmilk feeding, exclusive breastfeeding and longer duration of breastfeeding) were related to less postpartum depression and better parent child relationships, which in turn were linked with fewer child behaviour problems. When looking at all the data together, both postpartum depression and the parent-child relationship helped to explain (mediate) the link between breastfeeding and child behaviour. These findings suggest that efforts to support breastfeeding in any form (including expressed breast milk feeding), supporting parental mental health, and encouraging strong parent-child relationships could all have positive effects on child behavioural development. The study was led by THRiVE PhD candidate Sarah Turner together with THRiVE co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad. Read the full article here [PDF] and check out Sarah's [Tweetorial] on X.
Congratulations to THRiVE Lab co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, for being elected to the Executive Council of the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) for a three-year term. Dr. Azad brings a decade of experience in Human Milk research with expertise in Pediatrics, Nutritional and Immunological Sciences, and will support the committee in their collective and collaborative approach to achieve ISRHML's goals. More about the ISRHML can be found here.
THRiVE lab co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad will be participating as a panelists for February 28 screening of a new documentary titled "The Invisible Extinction: The impact of a disappearing Microbiota" in New York City. The screening is part of Columbia University Epidemiology Grand Rounds - a special series of seminars showcasing cutting-edge research between different entities, academic institutions, faculties and the Columbia community at large. View the movie here.
THRiVE Lab members and colleagues published "Cohort Profile: Investigating SARS-CoV-2 infection and the health and psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Canadian CHILD Cohort" in Epidemiology and Health. Embedded in the CHILD Cohort, this study collected data from 1462 families to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the health and well-being of children and parents, including aspects related to infection, testing, vaccination, lifestyle changes and school closures. The study was led by THRiVE co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, and offers a unique data resource for the research community in Canada and abroad. Read the full article here [PDF] and check out Dr. Azad's [Tweetorial] on X.
THRiVE lab co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, was featured on the Massey Grand Rounds Annual Symposium titled "Trust you Gut: The Microbiome in Health & Disease" in 2023. Dr. Azad was awarded the Jannet Rossant Lectureship and spoke about "Modelling Milk & Microbes: new approaches to understanding how breastfeeding supports the infant microbiome and lifelong health". View the full symposium here.
Recent THRiVE lab research is being recognized internationally: led by THRiVE Co-Director Meghan Azad, the IMiC Consortium published a large systematic review “Human Milk Composition and Child Growth and Body Composition in the First 2 Years: A Systematic Review". The work was featured by the American Society for Nutrition and highlighted by Dr. Ashley Vargas of the US National Institutes of Health in a commentary "Human Milk Composition: An Atlas Child for Child Health Recommendations". Follow the links to read more!
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