Supporting Neurodevelopment With Brain-Building Nutrition

This education is about:

• Infant brain and neurocognitive development
• The importance of lipids on neurodevelopment
• Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) structure and function
• Effects of MFGM supplementation on cognitive outcomes

Why it matters:

Supporting brain and neurocognitive development is critical during the first 1,000 days of life. Nutrition plays a foundational role during this sensitive period of development. The brain, which is 60% lipids, nearly doubles in size from birth to 2 years of age. The lipids found in human milk, which are encapsulated by the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), are key nutrients for promoting neurodevelopment. Understanding the functional role of MFGM in infant development and the potential benefits of providing supplemental MFGM to formula-fed infants is necessary for clinicians caring for infants in the earliest stages of life.

• Profile

  John Colombo, PhD

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  John Colombo, PhD, is director of the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies, and a professor of psychology at the University of Kansas (KU) in Lawrence, Kansas. Dr. Colombo received his doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

  In addition to being an active participant in the Brain, Behavior, and Quantitative Science doctoral program in the Department of Psychology at KU, Dr. Colombo is affiliated with three interdisciplinary doctoral programs: Child Language, Clinical Child Psychology, and Neuroscience. He has also served as director of the KU research institute for many years and the principal investigator on numerous clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, as well as private companies and foundations.

  Dr. Colombo’s research studies have included the measurement and evaluation of neurocognitive development in infancy and early childhood in both typically developing as well as at-risk populations of infants and young children. In recent years he has worked to include innovative laboratory measures of neurodevelopment into clinical trials evaluating the effects of nutrients and micronutrients on the development of cognitive function.

  The International Congress of Infant Studies (ICIS) recently honored Dr. Colombo with the organization’s Translational Research Award for his more than three decades of research. ICIS is the largest scientific society in the world dedicated to the study of human development during infancy and early childhood. The award honors scientists who have successfully moved basic research findings on early human development from the laboratory to the applied world. Dr. Colombo was recognized not only for his own research accomplishments but also for mentoring, over the years, the many scientists whose research has had a significant impact on enhancing the lives of infants and their families.

  Dr. Colombo has authored or coauthored six books, more than 100 peer-reviewed chapters and articles, and has been an invited speaker at national and international symposia. He serves on the editorial boards of several medical journals including the International Journal of Pediatrics, Infancy, Child Development, and Infant Behavior and Development.

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  John Colombo, PhD

  Professor of Psychology
  Director of the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies
  Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  University of Kansas
  Lawrence, Kansas

• Profile

  Magnus Domellöf, MD, PhD

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  Magnus Domellöf, MD, PhD, is a professor of pediatrics in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Umeå University, and senior consultant in neonatology and director of research and quality improvement in the neonatal intensive care unit at Umeå University Hospital in Umeå, Sweden. Dr. Domellöf received his medical degree from Umeå University, and his PhD degree in pediatrics at the same institution, in collaboration with the University of California, Davis.

  Dr. Domellöf ranks in the top two percent of influential researchers worldwide. His research, that encompasses national and international networks within pediatric nutrition, neonatology, and perinatology, focuses on early interventions to improve long-term health in children.

  Dr. Domellöf currently leads several large research projects studying the relationship between nutrition and brain development. Results of his research on iron supplements show that iron given to marginally low-birth-weight infants reduces behavioral problems in children up to school age and that delayed umbilical cord clamping in normal deliveries improves iron status and fine-motor function at 4 years of age. Recent research also demonstrates the positive effects of milk fat globule membrane supplementation of infant formula on cognitive function at 12 months of age. Another study evaluates the effects of a human milk-based fortifier and polyunsaturated fatty acids given to preterm infants.

  A major, long-term study, with Dr. Domellöf as its principal investigator, is currently underway. Titled NorthPop, the study will eventually involve up to 10,000 pregnant women, following their children from fetal life to school age. More than 8,000 women are currently enrolled in the trial. Since a majority of lifestyle-related diseases are established early in life, NorthPop provides a valuable biobank of data on children and their young adult parents. More than 40 researchers are involved in a variety of research projects designed to answer questions about topics that include asthma/allergy, obesity, brain development, epigenetics, gut microbiota, environmental toxins, mental health, and lifestyle/socioeconomics, with the number of researchers and studies expected to increase significantly.  

  Dr. Domellöf is a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences National Committee for Nutrition and Food Science, chair of the nutrition committee of the Swedish Neonatal Society, and a longstanding member of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, and has had more than 230 of his own articles and other material published in international scientific journals.

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  Magnus Domellöf, MD, PhD

  Professor of Pediatrics
  Umeå University
  Senior Consultant (attending) Physician
  Department of Clinical Sciences
  Umeå, Sweden