Bioactive milk peptides and Preterm Infants

Faculty Primary Campus
Corvallis Campus
College of Health
Nutrition Program
# of Students
6
Faculty Email
Project Description
We specialize in the following areas Bioactive milk peptides:

-identifying novel bioactive protein fragments—peptides—in human and bovine milk
-identifying which milk peptides are present across the digestive tract (infants and adults) Bioactive milk proteins
-determining which milk proteins survive intact across digestion, enabling them to exert function throughout the gut
-improving protein preservation across milk processing Improving preterm infant health
-assessing digestive deficiencies in preterm infants -improving processing of human milk to enhance bioactivity Improving adult health
-assessing the survival of functional bovine milk proteins and peptides across adult digestion
-assessing the effect of bovine milk proteins and peptides on health (e.g., immune system, microbiome)
-improving processing of bovine milk components to enhance bioactivity Our approach Clinical studies -collecting digestive fluids from infants and adults -feeding studies Digestion models
-static and dynamic simulated infant and adult digestion Structural analysis
-peptidomics
-proteomics
-glycopeptidomics
-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays Functional assays
-immunomodulatory assays (e.g., macrophage cell culture)
-intestinal cell culture -antimicrobial assays Can High Pressure Processing (HPP) and Ultraviolet-C Irradiation (UV-C) Treatment Preserve Donor Milk Bioactive Protein Structure and Function Better than Holder Pasteurization?

Our long-term goal is to optimize feeding practices for preterm infants to improve their health outcomes. The objectives of this research are to identify the minimum high pressure processing and UV-C treatment conditions that achieve equivalent microbiological safety to Holder pasteurization while optimally preserving bioactive protein structure and function. The positive impact of this research will be guidance for donor milk processors on how to optimally process donor milk for feeding preterm infants and information for clinicians on how to evaluate available donor milk sources. Changes in milk processing to better preserve bioactive milk proteins could improve preterm infant health outcomes.
Campus
Corvallis Campus Only
This offer is open ended.