 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.
 Credits: CTV News Winnipeg MILC and THRiVE lab co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, speaks with CTV News Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Free Press about 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.
 Credits: UM Today | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences MILC and THRiVE Discovery lab co-directors, Dr. Meghan Azad and Natalie Rodriguez, received 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, 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.
 Credits: ABC radio MILC and THRiVE lab co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, was interviewed on the Australian Brodcast 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.
  FIG 1. Associations between human milk components and physiological processes that influence infant immune development: epigenetics, microbiome, and gut integrity. MILC member and THRiVE lab masters student, 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.
 Left to Right: UM President and vice chancellor Michael Benarroch, Dr. Meghan Azad, and VP (Research and International) Dr. Mario Pinto. Photo credits: UMToday News. Congratulations to MILC co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, on receiving the 2022 Steacie Prize, one of Canada's most coveted awards for early career researchers. The Steacie prize is named in honour of Edgar William Richard Steacie, a physical chemist and former president of the National Research Council of Canada. This prize is awarded to a person 40 years of age or younger who has made notable contributions to research in Canada. More about the Steacie Prize can be found here.
 Left to Right: Dr. Michael Loudon, Dr. Courtney Leary, Dr. Biniam Kidane, Dr. Katherine Kearns and Dr. Christina Raimondi MILC Club members, Dr. Katherine Kearns and Dr. Christina Raimondi, received the Doctors Manitoba Medal of Excellence for their work in establishing The Winnipeg Breastfeeding Centre in 2017. Through this, they address challenges patients face in accessing help with lactation or infant feeding. By utilizing the latest scientific evidence on breastfeeding, human milk feeding and infant feeding practices, the clinic and its experts are now a trusted resource for patients and physicians. Read more on Doctors Manitoba website and watch their Medal of Excellence Gala video here.
Congratulations to Natalie Rodriguez, winner of the 2023 Michelle Harkness Mentorship Award!2/16/2023
 Left to Right: Dr. Paul O'Byrne, Dr. Anne Ellis, Natalie Rodriguez, April O'Connell Congratulations to MILC co-Director and Operations 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.
 MILC Club members, Sarah Turner, Dr. Christina Raimondi, Dr. Katherine Kearns, Dr. Meghan Azad and Karishma Hosein, MSc, have submitted a brief the House of Commons Standing Committee on Women's Health. The brief provides recommendations to 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. Link to the Twitter thread [here].
 Congratulations to MILC co-Director, Dr. Meghan Azad, on receiving the 2022 Steacie Price! The Steacie prize is annually awarded to a young scientist or engineer in Canada. It is named in the memory of E.W.R. Steacie, a physical chemist and former President of the National Research Council of Canada, to whom much is owed for the development of science in Canada.
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