CTSI pilot award leads to findings linking protective bacterium to breast-feeding

Research by a CTSI pilot awardee recently found that premature babies gain protective gut bacteria through breast-feeding, according to an article published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation last month.

A team of researchers including Mansour Mohamadzadeh, PhD, a professor in the College of Medicine who received a 2013 pilot award, found that novel beneficial bacterium found in breast-fed babies protect newborn mice from a dangerous intestinal disease that also affects premature infants.