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Improving Infant Health by Studying Human Milk as a Biological System: Composition, Dynamics, and Delivery (At-the-Breast vs Expressed Milk) (BEGIN)

Award Number: R01HD112363
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/02/2024
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2029

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Improving Infant Health by Studying Human Milk as a Biological System: Composition, Dynamics, and Delivery (At-the-Breast vs Expressed Milk) (BEGIN) - Human milk (HM) is dynamic - its composition changes during the day, and over time along with infant needs. This chronobiology of HM has long been acknowledged to play a role in infant development and programming but is poorly characterized. While clinical outcomes differ between infants fed at-the-breast (ATB) vs expressed (ie: pumped) HM, how infant input (via suckling) influences HM biology also remains unknown, even though “pumping” is an almost universal practice. As such, our over-arching hypotheses are that HM composition and dynamics, when studied as a biological system, differ between infants fed ATB vs expressed HM, and interrupting delivery of natural HM chronobiological signals to the infant (via feeding expressed HM) impacts infant sleep patterns and microbiome development. Our interdisciplinary team will collect daily HM samples, and extensive metadata from exclusively breastfeeding mothers and infants between 1-4 months postpartum: 60 dyads exclusively feeding ATB (ATB group) and 60 dyads exclusively expressing HM (Express group). Multi-omics analytical platforms will be used to characterize HM hormones, macronutrients, microbiota, oligosaccharides, cytokines, and immunoglobulins to study HM as an ecological system. This novel high-resolution sampling combined with cutting-edge analytical and modeling techniques power these aims: 1) Detect temporal changes in HM composition diurnally and longitudinally and compare these trajectories between ATB vs Express groups. Time-series models and machine-learning analytic approaches will be utilized to infer latent HM dynamics and temporal trajectories, identifying (for the first time) longitudinal and 24-hour temporal patterns in HM composition. We will then determine if and how these trajectories differ between ATB vs Express Groups. 2) Identify relationships between HM composition and dynamics with infant sleep patterns. Compare these relationships and sleep outcomes between ATB vs Express groups. Biometric assessment of infant sleep will be gathered via actigraphy. Bayesian supervised machine learning algorithms will link HM “Lactotypes” and components with sleep outcomes. The resulting algorithm will distinguish if relationships between HM composition and dynamics and infant sleep outcomes differs between ATB vs Express groups. 3) Identify relationships between HM composition and dynamics with the developing infant microbiome, and compare these differences between groups. Machine learning models will identify “Milk Lactotypes” and specifics of HM dynamics that predict the time-course of infant microbiome colonization – a critical marker of future health outcomes. These models will assess how the relationship between HM and infant microbiome differs between feeding ATB vs Express feeding groups. Our study will inform precision nutrition guidance to families feeding expressed HM and will also immediately impact nutrition best-practices for feeding premature infant and milk banking protocols.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $670,903 )
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER	910 GENESEE ST	ROCHESTER	NY	14611	MONROE	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	3	5/25/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$670,903
														Subtotal = $670,903

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $686,458 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER	910 GENESEE ST	ROCHESTER	NY	14611	MONROE	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	2	5/6/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$686,458
														Subtotal = $686,458

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $682,076 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER	910 GENESEE ST	ROCHESTER	NY	14611	MONROE	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	1	7/2/2024	NEW	$682,076
														Subtotal = $682,076

Grand Total All Awards = $2,039,437

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Improving Infant Health by Studying Human Milk as a Biological System: Composition, Dynamics, and Delivery (At-the-Breast vs Expressed Milk) (BEGIN)

Award Number: R01HD112363

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/02/2024

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2029

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