New findings from AllerGen’s CHILD Study show that exclusive breastfeeding during the first few days of life is positively associated with longer-term breastfeeding, while in-hospital formula use is associated with breastfeeding for a significantly shorter duration.

Go to the AllerGen website to see more, view the press release here, or see the article on PubMed here. 

Postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Kozeta Miliku, from the Azad lab was awarded Best Poster at the 2018 Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) Canada conference. Congratulations! 

Dr. Azad is visiting the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) in Bristol, UK. Also known as "Children of the 90's", ALSPAC is a world-leading pregnancy cohort study charting the health of 14,500 families. This incredible study has  have published over 1500 papers!

Congratulations to Dr. Meghan Azad and co-PI Dr. Jean Marshall (Dalhousie University) for receiving $742,050 in funding from CIHR. This grant will support research with the CHILD study to determine how breastfeeding can help prevent food allergies. CLICK HERE to check out all the U of M projects that were funded. 

Dr. Azad recently had an article published in MD Magazine which is a comprehensive clinical news and information portal to provide physicians with current resources in order to provide optimal care to their patients. CLICK HERE to read the article. 

​Check out Dr. Meghan Azad's interview with Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group. This interview highlights the work Dr. Azad is doing studying the developmental origins of chronic disease in children and looking at them from a life course perspective. CLICK HERE to see the interview. 

After much discussion, the UM Today editorial team chose 10 research highlights as a representative sample from 2017. Dr. Meghan Azad is honored to have 2 of her projects featured on this list. 

ASTHMA RISK LOWER WITH DIRECT BREASTFEEDING

• Direct breastfeeding in the first three months of life appears to provide more protection against childhood asthma than either infant formula or expressed breastmilk, according to findings from the CHILD Study.

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS LINKED TO RISK OF LONG-TERM WEIGHT GAIN, HEART DISEASE AND OTHER HEALTH ISSUES

• Artificial sweeteners may be associated with long-term weight gain and increased risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). 

To view the entire list CLICK HERE. 

Dr. Meghan Azad's article "Nonnutritive sweeteners and cardiometabolic health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trails and prospective cohort studies" has been featured in the Altmetric Top 100 2017. This distinction is based on the research being one of the most widely discussed and shared academic papers this year, and receiving a significant amount of online attention. CLICK HERE to view the article. 

Dr. Azad and Dr. Pitt had their research highlighted in a blog post by Food Allergy Canada on December 8, 2017

CLICK HERE to read the blog. 

Check out this video of Dr. Meghan Azad explaining why breastmilk matters. CLICK HERE to view the video.