Genomics of Human Milk Composition and Its Effects on Infant Growth and Development

This proposal contains complementary analyses of the molecular and cellular composition of breast milk, the effects of maternal obesity on milk composition, and the impact of host-microbiome interactions in milk on the infant gut microbiome. In Aim 1 we apply single-cell RNA sequencing to milk to identify obesity-associated changes to the cellular composition and gene expression of milk, which will reveal the physiological processes that may underlie obesity-related challenges to establishing breastfeeding. In Aim 2 we will generate milk RNA sequencing data for a well-phenotyped study of 360 mother infant dyads and use multi-omics integration to understand how maternal metabolic health alters milk composition and the milk and infant gut microbiomes, and how these changes impact infant growth. The results will provide foundational data necessary for advancing our knowledge of human nutrition during the critical first 1000 days of life, facilitating the development of therapies and interventions to improve infant health