MaxiMoM

Our team

MaxiMoM team introduction

Meet the team behind MaxiMoM

Combining their research, clinical, milk banking, and discipline-specific strengths, principal investigators, Drs. O’Connor and Unger, have become international leaders in optimizing human milk for very low birth weight infants. This research could not be done without the dedication and enthusiasm of our large team of staff, collaborators and trainees!

Principal investigators

Dr. Deborah O'Connor- MaxiMoM Principal Investigator

Deborah O'Connor PhD RD

Dr. O’Connor is the Earle W. McHenry Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and holds scientific appointments in the Research Institute at The Hospital for Sick Children and in the Department of Pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital. She is also a Canada Research Chair in Human Milk and Infant Nutrition. Dr. O’Connor is a recognized authority in maternal and neonatal nutrition with a current research focus on evaluation of strategies to support human milk feeding in vulnerable populations including the use of donor human milk when maternal milk is unavailable. Dr. O'Connor is also interested in understanding the factors that affect the folate and one-carbon (e.g., vitamin B12) nutrient status of women and their infants. In particular, her work investigates the role folic acid fortification, vitamin and mineral supplementation and colonic bacterial folate biosynthesis play on the folate status of women of reproductive age. Dr. O’Connor frequently serves on national and international expert committees to develop maternal and neonatal nutrition guidelines.

Sharon Unger MD

Dr. Unger is a Neonatologist at IWK Health in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a Professor in the Faculties of Medicine at Dalhousie University and the University of Toronto as well as a mother to three daughters. She comes from New Brunswick and attended Dalhousie University Medical School. Following pediatrics residency on the East Coast, Dr. Unger completed fellowship training in neonatal-perinatal medicine at the University of Toronto. After 25 years practicing neonatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, she returned to her roots on the East Coast. Dr. Unger was the inaugural Medical Director of the Rogers Hixon Ontario Human Milk Bank. Her area of interest is supporting mothers to provide their milk for their infants following admission to a neonatal intensive care unit. Her research interests are in neonatal nutrition and the use of human donor milk.

Staff

Adrienne Agueci RD MPH

Diet technician

Elisa Andaya BSc NM

Diet technician

Rachael Crumb, Food Nutr Mgmt

Diet technician

Chelsea Denton

Diet technician

Bonnie Huang RD

Research dietitian

Nicole Law PhD CPsych

Psychologist

Aneta Plaga BA

Clinical research coordinator

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Zoe Aliefendioglu BSc

Lab research project coordinator

Annette Chrzaniecki RD MPH

Research dietitian

Ciara Currah

Clinical research project assistant

Christine Gaoiran BSc

Research technologist

Alexia Lambis MEd

Psychometrist

Dubraiicka Pichardo MSc

Clinical research coordinator

Lauren Tang BSc

Diet technician

Vincent Wong RD MSc

Diet technician

Collaborators

Collaboration is at the heart of our work. The consortium of neonatal intensive care units and organizations are an integral part of the MaxiMoM program. Through these collaborators, we reach many of the infants born very low birth weight in Canada each year. This level of integration and collaboration makes the MaxiMoM program a unique network not found anywhere else in the world. Established research contracts, electronic data collection, a biobank, and support from the Rogers Hixon Ontario Human Milk Bank place MaxiMoM in an ideal position to rapidly and effectively answer research questions and implement practice change.

Canadian Premature Babies Foundation

Humber River Hospital

IWK Health

Lakeridge Health

Mackenzie Health

Markham Stouffville Hospital

North York General Hospital

Rogers Hixon Ontario Human Milk Bank

Scarborough Health Network

Sinai Health System

Southlake Regional Health Centre

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

The Hospital for Sick Children

Toronto East Health Network

Trillium Health Partners

Unity Health Toronto

Universite Laval

University of Alberta

University of Ottawa

University of Saskatchewan

University of Toronto

William Osler Health System

Canadian Premature Babies Foundation

Founded in 2012, the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation (CPBF) is a non-profit organization led by parents and focused on support and advocacy for children born preterm and their families. The national team of parents and neonatal clinicians is led by Executive Director, Fabiana Bacchini. The MaxiMoM team collaborates with the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation to ensure research is accessible, equitable and relevant to families. Work from our team on feeding in the early years and the milk microbiome has been presented at CPBF's Preemie Chats, a live video series that promotes education and knowledge dissemination.

Trainees

Jo-Anna Baxter PhD

Research fellow

Exploring associations between maternal micronutrient supplementation, diet and body mass index with breastmilk composition and infant growth

Alison Mildon RD PhD

Research fellow

Investigating infant feeding, household food security and community-based nutrition interventions in diverse populations

Maryam Razaghi PhD

Research fellow

The CanDo (Canadian Donor Milk) Trial: Pasteurized human donor milk supplementation in the well-baby unit

Sindhu Kashyap PhD

Research fellow

TBD

Meredith Kinoshita MD

Neonatal fellow

Examining potential mineral and trace element loss in multi-nutrient fortified human milk after enteral tube feeding

Sara Aboulhassane HBSc

PhD student

Neuroprotective role of pyrroloquinoline quinone in folate-associated neurological disorders

Shachar Shalit RD MPH

PhD student

Nutrient intake ranges of very low birth weight infants who achieved typical neurodevelopment

Sara Shama RD MSc

PhD student

Impact of pre- and probiotic properties of mother's milk on the microbial colonization of very low birth weight infants

Rachel Wong

PhD student

TBD

Bryshan Francis HBSc

MSc student

Development of a non-pathogenic surrogate to confirm optimal processing of donor human milk

Amy Posel BScH

MSc student

Eileen Liang

Research student

Vitamin B12 concentration of human milk from mothers delivering very preterm and the association with maternal diet

Catherine Wang

Research student

James Spyker

Volunteer database administrator

Former trainees

Michelle Asbury PhD: Postdoctoral fellow, University of Calgary
Nicole Bando PhD: Research program manager, Unity Health Toronto
Megan Beggs RD PhD: Assistant professor, University of Saskatchewan
Marina Castro MD: Medical director of women's and children's health program, Trillium Health Partners
Victoria Colaluca MSc MPsy: PsyD student, Adler Graduate Professional School
Sara DiLauro RD MSc: Senior manager of patient services, The Hospital for Sick Children
Amir El Makkawi MD: Neonatologist, Lakeridge Health
Colleen Farrell RD MSc: PhD student, University of British Columbia
Jane Francis RD PhD: Assistant professor, Acadia University
Adrianna Greco RD MSc: PhD student, University of British Columbia
Kathryn Hopperton PhD: Scientific evaluator, Health Canada
Abu Ismail MD: Neonatologist, Halton Healthcare
Samantha Ismail MSc: Medical student, University of Toronto
Siya Khanna DO MSc: Medical resident, Phelps Hospital
Phoebe Kigozi MD: Neonatologist, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Akash Kothari MSc: Medical student, University of Toronto
Lauren LeMay-Nedjelski PhD: Account director-scientific strategist, Impetus Digital
Yunnie Luk RD MSc: Registered dietitian, The Hospital for Sick Children
Meghan McGee PhD: Project coordinator, Sinai Health System
Amanda Montana MSc: Medical student, Western University
Dawn Ng MSc: Dentist, Newstead Smiles

Julia Panczuk MD: Neonatologist, BC Women’s Hospital
Michael Pitino PhD: Director, Rogers Hixon Ontario Human Milk Bank
Eleanor Reid MSc: Project manager, Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Julie Sato PhD: Research manager, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Susan Trang RD MSc: Senior scientific project manager, Health Canada
Kathryn Walton RD PhD: Assistant professor, University of Guelph
Amelia Xu PhD: Scientific associate, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
Telford Yeung MD PhD: Neonatologist, Alberta Health Services