 Human milk and the act of breastfeeding are critical in the development and maintenance of infant and maternal health. In an interview with CHRIM, Dr. Azad described how the research in this area has greatly improved our understanding of the origins of human health but has been fraught with increased tension between the research community and breastfeeding advocate groups. The workshop, “Breastfeeding and the Origins of Health: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Priorities,” organized by Drs Azad and Nickel, gathered experts from around the world to address these issues. The proceedings from this workshop describe key barriers in breastfeeding and human milk research and present an action plan to keep this important research moving forward.
  In February 2019 experts convened in Winnipeg, Manitoba to identify challenges and breakthroughs in breastfeeding and human milk research (co-led by Drs Azad and Nickel). The proceedings from this workshop were published in the Maternal and Child Nutrition article, “Breastfeeding and The Origins of Health: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Priorities,” co-authored by Dr. Azad and Azad Lab Post-Doc Fellow, Dr. Brockway. The workshop focused on two main areas of concern: the need for more interdisciplinary research in this field and the need to address counterproductive tensions between breastfeeding research and advocacy efforts. Read more about this exciting work in Dr. Azad’s Tweetorial here!
 Dr. Azad received the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation Joe Doupe Young Investigators Award and recently gave her award lecture titled “My Journey (so far) & Strategies for Success in Clinical Research”. Azad spoke of her journey, how she reached where she is today, and emphasized an important lesson - where she’s ended up is not where she started; where she is today is not where she will finish! The virtual setting allowed her entire lab, Grade 7 science teacher, PhD & Postdoc supervisors, mentors & colleagues past & present, and parents to all be in the audience, making it a very special day. Congratulations, Meghan!
 Our Program Director Natalie Rodriguez was named as a finalist for this year's CBC Manitoba Future 40 Awards. When asked about advice for tackling big projects, she says "Dare to dream. Dare to shoot for the moon and then go beyond that. Never let someone tell you you aren't good enough, you can't, or you won't." Congratulations Natalie on being recognized for your hard work that is making a difference in the lives of Manitobans!
 The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted Canadian families. Dr. Azad hopes to understand this impact with a new research project, profiled by the Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM). This $1.7M project involves families already enrolled in the CHILD Cohort Study to better understand the social and physical impacts of the pandemic on children and their parents.
 In 2018 Dr. Meghan Azad, Dr. Lars Bode and colleagues published the seminal paper, "Human Milk Oligosaccharide Concentrations Are Associated with Multiple Fixed and Modifiable Maternal Characteristics, Environmental Factors, and Feeding Practices," describing how human milk oligosaccharide concentrations are impacted by multiple fixed and modifiable maternal characteristics, environmental factors and feeding practices. This foundational paper is now named among the Most Cited articles from 2018 in The Journal of Nutrition, with 45 citations and counting! Congratulations, Meghan and collaborators!
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