Mahe's project is a collaboration between the LRF CIBF and LRF NGN.

It focuses on the critical period of brain development at birth, which coincides with the production of colostrum, the first form of breastmilk – rich in bioactive compounds that support processes such as myelination and synapse formation.

Around one in three newborns receives commercial milk formula within the first three days of life, potentially reducing exposure to colostrum during this formative window. Mahe is working to strengthen the evidence around colostrum by combining data from two multi-center birth cohorts and applying gold-standard tools to assess infant neurodevelopment.

His project aims to raise awareness of the potential role of colostrum in early brain development and to provide a foundation for future mechanistic, clinical, and translational research, particularly in vulnerable newborn populations.

Mahe’s investigation seeks to answer these questions:

• Is exclusive colostrum feeding in the first days of life associated with improved neurodevelopmental outcomes at 24 months of age?

• Do these associations hold across multiple birth cohorts when assessed using the gold-standard Bayley-III developmental assessment?

• Are certain groups of infants, such as male infants, more likely to benefit from exclusive colostrum feeding in terms of neurodevelopmental outcomes?

Photo: The University of Western Australia