Human milk is the gold standard for infant nutrition, yet not all infants have access to human milk. In these cases, infant formula is the best alternative, despite compositional gaps that exist between human milk and infant formula. Although human milk has been the subject of extensive research, fundamental questions remain regarding human milk components and how they contribute to infant development. Answering these questions has the potential to improve the composition of infant formula to meet the physiological needs of infants that do not have access to human milk and ultimately improve infant health and development.

The Moore Family Center is a steering member of a new tripartite consortium, the Infant Nutrition Science Coalition (INSC). Comprised of more than 20 industry members and representatives from government and academia, INSC is working together to unravel the complexities of human milk. As part of this work, the Moore Family Center was awarded a special contract to develop two papers detailing the state of the science, gaps, and opportunities in human milk science research.

The first will be a perspectives paper, written in partnership with a tripartite writing team. This paper will precede an upcoming Human Milk Science Workshop to identify research thrust areas. Following the workshop, the second paper will serve as both workshop proceedings and consensus paper on the subject.

The Moore Family Center team is currently in the planning phase of the perspectives paper, and the International Life Sciences Institute (a project partner) is currently planning the workshop, which will be open to the public. Stay tuned for the workshop date and more updates on this exciting project!