Location: Obesity and Metabolism Research
Project Number: 2032-10700-003-020-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Nov 1, 2024
End Date: Apr 30, 2026
Objective:
1. Finalize and publish milk reference values: This includes completing nutrient analyses of colostrum, milk, and maternal biomarkers in E-MILQ, which will complete the milk nutrient reference values/curves for the first 8.5 months postpartum. The plan involves extensive statistical analysis, data interpretation, and writing to finalize and disseminate these findings, with at least seven articles to be published together in a special issue of Advances in Nutrition.
2. Develop and publish reference values for nutritional status biomarkers in lactating mothers and their infants. This objective includes evaluating dietary adequacy indicators to predict maternal status and milk nutrient concentrations.
3. Model predictors of milk nutrient composition, infant nutritional status, and growth.
4. Data analysis and publication by sites: Site-based co-investigators will focus on publishing results of unique site-specific observations.
5.Dissemination of results: The results will be disseminated through at least 4 international meetings involving scientists and policymakers.
Approach:
The data generated by the samples collected in our completed MILQ and EMILQ2/EMILQ studies will be used to fulfil aims of the study. A substantial team of investigators will be supported in this effort across the sites that collected the milk samples, and in some cases, analyzed them for nutrient composition. The project will be supervised by the PI of the MILQ2/EMILQ studies, who will hire a statistical consultant, scientific writer and data manager for this work, as was done in the previous studies. The field sites will support their own students and statisticians. Almost all of the Objectives must be completed by October, 2025. The exception is the systems biology analysis which is allowed until October 2026 for completion.
