The Human Milk Institute at UC San Diego is one of a kind. No other institute at a university is focused on understanding the science of breast milk and the role it plays in our lives.
Institute founder Lars Bode said he doesn't know why no other institute has the same dedication.
“There is no all-encompassing, harmonizing institute that takes all aspects of human milk, from molecular biology all the way to public health, social sciences, politics. I mean there’s a lot of space to cover here,” said Bode, also a professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego.
Bode, like most people his age, was nursed using infant formula. Baby formula has the calories and nutrition that allow babies to grow. But it lacks all of the bioactive molecules that exist in breast milk, and they do make a difference.
Bode said babies nursed on mother’s milk are less likely to get infectious diseases. In developing nations with a higher burden of pathogens, not nursing on mother’s milk can have serious consequences.
“This could be a question of life and death,” Bode said. “So if you don’t receive human milk, with all those bioactive components in it that protect you from disease, then you might have a higher chance of dying from infectious disease.”
But we still don’t know just what those protective elements in breast milk do.
“There isn’t enough research to distinguish between kids who are breastfed and those given formula and I would love to be a part of the research that answers some of these questions,” said Mitra Hooshmand, the new executive director of the Human Milk Institute.
Hooshmand was just hired to lead the Institute. Her scientific background is in neuroscience, with a Ph.D. from UC Irvine. She founded her own business, a yoga studio, and campaigned to pass Prop 14 in 2020, which provided $5.5 billion for stem cell research.
When it comes to breastfeeding, she’s a mom and she’s done it.
“I spent almost the entire time breastfeeding, reading about breastfeeding and breastmilk,” she said. “I clearly remember I would have a phone in my hand as I was breastfeeding and I was reading, ‘What time of the day is the right time to breastfeed,’ you know.”
Hooshmand’s goal and that of the institute is to grow into a place that’s focused on research that is also engaged with the community. One specific goal is to create an endowed academic chair.
They have even begun using the term “lactology” to describe their field of study.
Bode added that the institute should be a place that creates new connections with other San Diego scientists who will study breastfeeding.
“We have great people here who work on all different disciplines, experts here in San Diego who can do miraculous things. But how do you connect all these people, all of these different expertises to collectively work in one direction?” he said.
For a lot of women, breastfeeding is not easy. It can be quite painful at first and many women wonder whether their baby is getting enough.
Bode said the healthcare system needs to normalize breastfeeding by providing adequate support during pregnancy and lactation. And that is also part of the mission of the Human Milk Institute.
