Innovations That Are Closing the Gap Between Breast Milk and Infant Formula

Olle Hernell, MD, PhD, is professor emeritus at the department of Clinical Sciences in Pediatrics at Umeå University in Sweden. Susan Carlson, PhD, is the AJ Rice Professor of Nutrition in the KU Department of Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Together, these leading researchers of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition present Innovations That Are Closing the Gap Between Breast Milk and Infant Formula. Dr. Hernell and Dr. Carlson primarily discuss how milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) impact cognitive development, while updating what is known about the bioactive components found in human milk and how infant nutrition affects the body, brain, and immunity. They also examine how new research in the supplementation of bioactives impacts clinicians when recommending breastfeeding and formula feeding.

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  Susan E. Carlson, PhD

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  Susan E. Carlson, PhD, is the AJ Rice Professor of Nutrition at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. Dr. Carlson received her doctorate from Iowa State University and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Wisconsin and the University of South Florida.

  Dr. Carlson is director of the Doctorate in Medical Nutrition Science program at the University of Kansas Medical Center and affiliate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. She has been active in the education of clinicians about maternal and infant health for many years. Her contributions in research, scholarship, and education were recognized when she was named a University Distinguished Professor.

  Dr. Carlson was instrumental in the establishment of best-practice guidelines for the intake of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for infants and pregnant women. Her research has involved conducting numerous large clinical trials to evaluate the effect of DHA supplementation on infants and pregnant women. The studies have focused primarily on the cognitive development of infants, but also on their nutritional, physiological and neurological outcomes, following some subjects for several years.

  Dr. Carlson is the recipient of numerous awards and honors for her pioneering work, which has been recognized both nationally and internationally. She is a frequently invited speaker, a contributor to numerous peer-reviewed articles, chapters, editorials and abstracts, an editor or expert reviewer for more than two-dozen medical journals, and a consultant to a number of pharmaceutical companies.

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  Susan E. Carlson, PhD

  AJ Rice Professor of Nutrition
  Department of Dietetics and Nutrition
  University of Kansas Medical Center
  Kansas City, Kansas

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  Olle Hernell, MD, PhD

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  Olle Hernell, MD, PhD, is professor emeritus in the pediatric division of the Department of Clinical Sciences at the University of Umeå in Sweden. He received his MD and PhD degrees from the University of Umeå, and completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at Harvard Medical School.

  Dr. Hernell is internationally recognized for his research in the field of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition. His research has included the study of bioactive substances in human milk, fat digestion and absorption in the newborn, iron requirements in infants and children, celiac disease, and probiotics. His most recent research is on bile salt-stimulated lipase (BSSL), clarifying its structure, characteristics and physiological function in fat digestion, and its role in inflammation.

  Dr. Hernell is the recipient of several national and international awards and honors. He has served on committees and working groups including the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, the Executive Committee of the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation, the March of Dimes International Task Force for Nutrition and Optimal Human Development, and the European Union Scientific Committee for Food's working group. He is the editor of a number of books and has published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers.

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  Olle Hernell, MD, PhD

  Professor Emeritus
  Section of Pediatrics, Department of Clinical Sciences
  Umeå University
  Umeå, Sweden