How breast milk handling affects protective peptides in preterm babies' intestines
Official title: Effects of human milk handling practices on peptide release and bioactivity in the preterm infant intestine
Funded at Oregon State University · NIH-11166693 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project compares how fresh, frozen, and pasteurized breast milk change the release and activity of helpful peptides in the intestines of preterm infants.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Oregon State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Corvallis, United States) |
| Project start | August 20, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $585,613 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD097367-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11166693 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are preterm infants in the NICU who receive their own mother's milk or pasteurized donor human milk.
✕Less likely to help
Full-term infants or babies who are exclusively formula-fed would not be directly helped by this research.
What this research studies
If your baby was born early and is in the NICU, researchers will compare milk from mothers and donor milk that is fresh, frozen-and-thawed, or pasteurized. They will collect samples and use laboratory tests to measure which peptides appear in the infant gut and what those peptides do, such as fighting bacteria or influencing gut and immune cells. The team will link different milk handling methods to changes in peptide identity and activity and study effects on intestinal cells and immune cells. Results aim to show which common handling practices best preserve milk components that help gut health in preterm infants.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could guide milk storage and processing practices that boost gut-protective peptides and lower infection or inflammation risk in preterm infants.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows freeze-thawing and pasteurization change milk proteins, but directly measuring how those changes alter protective peptide release and activity in preterm intestines is largely new.
Where this research is happening
-
Oregon State University
Corvallis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dallas, David Charles — Oregon State University
- Study coordinator: Dallas, David Charles
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.