Multi-Omic Milk: Understanding how breast milk’s components shape child health
Official title: The Multi-Omic Milk (MuMi) Study: Leveraging the IMiC Platform and the CHILD Cohort to study human milk as a biological system and understand its composition, determinants and impacts on child health
Funded at University of Manitoba · NIH-11384523 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study using advanced “multi-omics” analyses to understand how breast milk’s many components interact and influence health in 0-11 year-olds.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Manitoba NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Winnipeg, Canada) |
| Project start | August 12, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $584,243 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD109859-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11384523 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children from birth to age 11 and their mothers who have existing CHILD cohort data or who are part of the IMiC network and can provide milk samples and health data.
✕Less likely to help
Results may be more exploratory for families whose data or samples are not included in the analyzed cohorts.
What this research studies
This project combines two major breast milk research platforms to study breast milk as a complex system within the mother–milk–infant triad. It will analyze thousands of milk components across 1600 mother–infant pairs, adding new measurements like metabolites and bioactive proteins to build a comprehensive view of how milk varies and affects child health. The study uses real-world data from the CHILD cohort and the IMiC network to explore how maternal, infant, and environmental factors shape milk and, in turn, child outcomes. Researchers will apply systems biology methods to integrate multi-omic data and identify patterns that link milk composition to growth, immunity, and development.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could illuminate how breastfeeding supports child health and guide personalized nutrition recommendations for mothers and infants.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have shown that certain milk components relate to infant health; this project expands understanding by integrating thousands of components across large cohorts, which is more comprehensive and potentially transformative.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Canada Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Azad, Meghan Brianne — University of Manitoba
- Study coordinator: Azad, Meghan Brianne
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.