Former nursing student turns to nutrition to impact infant health

MS-PD student Ashley McKelvey, BS ’25, began her academic career studying nursing at California State University Long Beach. Although she loved what she was learning and the experience of working with patients, she became increasingly curious about nutrition.

This led her to Oregon State and deeper studies into the biological processes of nutrition, including metabolism, food- drug interactions, nutrient absorption, digestion, and the internal microbiome. She was particularly interested in how infants digest breast milk, an area of research that can impact formula designs and help create better feeding strategies and targeted interventions for vulnerable babies.

Ashley now plans to earn her PhD and become a registered dietitian and lactation consultant. She says her research at Oregon State, which began while she was an undergraduate, has only increased her curiosity and opened her eyes to new areas for exploration. She also found a mentor and role model, which she says has been one of the most rewarding experiences as a student in the College of Health.

Below, Ashley talks about her experiences at Oregon State and what she’s learned as an undergraduate researcher.

Why did you choose to come to Oregon State?

When I discovered I wanted to switch my studies to nutrition, I decided to transfer to Oregon State University in 2022 due to its accredited nutrition program for registered dietitians and the many opportunities for undergraduates to get involved with nutrition research. This past June, I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics.

How did you get involved in this particular research? Have you always been interested in this topic and/or research itself?

In 2023 I completed an URSA internship at the Dallas Lab which is how I first got involved in research with analyzing human milk and their effects on infant health outcomes.

I have always had a passion to help women and children, so this type of research really resonated with how I want to make a clinical impact.

I was excited to understand the research behind infant nutrition investigating digestion of proteins and peptides in human milk and infant formulas, as with gaining this type of knowledge and skills will allow me to translate its impacts into the clinical setting.

Tell me about your research.

My research is focused around studying preterm infant digestion using different methods that simulate the digestive conditions of preterm infants.

This is an effort to understand how enzymes in the stomach, such as proteases, break down human milk proteins that allow for the release of hundreds of functional protein fragments, called peptides, in the gastrointestinal tract. These peptides are associated with supporting growth, development and immune function in the preterm infant.

Given the immunomodulatory functions of some of the identified bioactive peptides in human milk, I have been conducting cell culture assays to see how the milk peptides modulate the immune function of macrophages that can be found in the gastrointestinal tract.

What do you find interesting/rewarding about your research?

Truly, this research has opened up a new world for me to explore, investigating the nutritious components of human milk but also the bioactive compounds that have been identified to support immune function in infants that can protect them from infections and fatal conditions such as necrotizing enterocolitis.

There are health disparities that remain when it comes to equitable access to human milk, making the work of milk banks and infant formula development so vital to addressing the critical need of infant nutrition that makes my research feel so important to contribute knowledge that pertains to why human milk and alternative equivalents are significant into improving health outcomes in infants.

The most rewarding part of my research has been learning under my mentor, PhD student Jillien Zukaitis. She has been with me through every step of my journey in conducting research and has been a true role model of how much we can make an impact by continuing to optimize and refine research methods. She has been beyond supportive and a great mentor not only with my research but also my future career as a clinical dietitian.

What have you learned about yourself, your research topic, and research in general?

I have learned a great deal when it comes to my research topic.

Before, I had no lab experience and only understood the basic knowledge of macronutrients and micronutrients that support infant development. I always understood that breastfeeding was the most optimal source of nutrition for infants, but not necessarily why and how.

In general, research has taught me the importance of pushing through obstacles, as there are going to be times experiments will produce unexpected results or do not go as planned. However, unexpected results and outcomes are still results and outcomes nevertheless!

Research has taught me not to doubt myself, as there is always another way to find alternatives and problem solve when research questions go unanswered.

How could/does your research impact people’s health and well-being?

Succeeding in developing validated methods to simulate preterm infant digestion will allow research to optimize human milk processing methods of donor milk and support infant formula product development to ensure nutritional needs are met in preterm infants.

This research will reflect in health outcomes of preterm infants to protect them from infections and help them meet growth and development milestones.

It is known that the first two years of life involve critical milestones that dictate lifelong physical and mental health wellness, which is why proper nutrition is so important to ensure well-being in infants and for their future.

What are your future goals?

My future goals are to obtain my registered dietitian license after I graduate from OSU’s MS-PD program in 2027.

I also want to obtain my lactation consultant license so I can begin working with infants and children in the clinical setting. I hope to gain clinical experience in neonatal intensive care units so I can help monitor infant nutrition and support their health outcomes.

I also hope to achieve my PhD in nutrition so I can continue my research in infant nutrition and later go into academia to teach nutrition and mentor dietetic students who want to work in the clinical setting.