Virginia Tech® home

The Human Milk Microbiome: A Paradigm Shift for Infant Health

Insert your title here

Your Text Here
Shelley McGuire, Ph.d.

Michelle "Shelley" McGuire, Ph.D.

Director and Professor
Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
University of Idaho

Member, National Academy of Medicine
View Speaker Profile

Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture: The Human Milk Microbiome: A Paradigm Shift for Infant Health

Date: Feb. 15, 2024

Time: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.  (Reception and hors d'oeuvres at 5 p.m.)

Download Flyer

Archived video

About this Seminar

Milk has historically been considered to be sterile unless it was contaminated or produced by an infected mammary gland. However, recent evidence suggests that milk produced by healthy women contains its own rich and unique microbiome - including bacteria, viruses, archaea, and fungi - which varies greatly within and among populations. Very little is known about if and how these microbes are related to maternal and infant health, but understanding the details of the complex maternal-infant-environment ecosystem will likely provide insight into lifelong health and risk for disease.

Additional Details

This is a free event hosted by Dr. Michael Friedlander and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. For more information, please call 540-526-2059.

About Maury Strauss

Maury Strauss is a longtime community benefactor and businessman who supports biomedical research with the goal of energizing the local economy and improving quality of life in our neighborhoods and around the world. In order to ensure the continued success of Roanoke’s biomedical research enterprise, as well as the free public seminars, Mr. Strauss has made a generous gift to the series. Read More.

Support Our Research

Your generous support of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's rigorous biomedical research enterprise makes a difference for our faculty, students, and patients. Every donation helps accelerate the pace of new discoveries to help patients with cancer, neurological disorders, heart disease, and even rare genetic disorders. Private donations fast-track our progress. 

Make A Gift Today

You May Also Be Interested In...

  • Home Item
    Inheriting Chromatin Domains in Mammals and the Mechanisms Involved
    Inheriting Chromatin Domains in Mammals and the Mechanisms Involved , home

    Sept. 5, 2025, 11:00 a.m. | Thelma Escobar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and Cancer Research Center — D.C.

  • Home Item
    Flow Induced Endothelial Planar Polarity for Signaling Regulation
    Flow Induced Endothelial Planar Polarity for Signaling Regulation , home

    Sept. 19, 2025, 11:00 a.m. | Julia Mack, Ph.D., Assistant Adjunct Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of California Los Angeles | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Vascular and Heart Research

  • Home Item
    The Bitter Truth: Alcohol Use and Its Effects on Chemosensory Function
    The Bitter Truth: Alcohol Use and Its Effects on Chemosensory Function , home

    Oct. 3, 2025, 11:00 a.m. | Paule Valery Joseph, Ph.D., Lasker Clinical Research Scholar, NIH Distinguished Scholar; Acting Chief, Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism Unit, Co-Director of the National Smell and Taste Center, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Health Behaviors Research and Addiction Recovery Research Center

  • Home Item
    Organization and Control of Hippocampal Networks
    Organization and Control of Hippocampal Networks , home

    Oct. 17, 2025, 11:00 a.m. | Ivan Soltesz, Ph.D., James R. Doty Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurosciences, Stanford University | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Neurobiology Research

  • Home Item
    Thinking the Right Thoughts
    Thinking the Right Thoughts , home

    Oct. 31, 2025, 11 a.m. | Nathaniel Daw, Ph.D., Professor, Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Princeton University | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Human Neuroscience Research

  • Home Item
    Understanding Vascular Morphogenesis and Morphology: Live Insights from Zebrafish
    Understanding Vascular Morphogenesis and Morphology: Live Insights from Zebrafish , home

    Nov. 21, 2025, 11:00 a.m. | Arndt F. Siekmann, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania | Co-Sponsored by the Center for Vascular and Heart Research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute