Understanding the interaction between human milk oligosaccharides and the gut microbiome in preterm infant health and disease

Babies born very preterm are immature and have abnormal bacterial colonisation of the gut, placing them at significant risk of life-threatening disease. Maternal breast milk contains sugars (prebiotics) that cannot be digested by humans and are instead used by beneficial bacteria (probiotics) to grow inside the baby's gut. Together, the combination of breast milk sugars and bacteria that live inside the gut can contribute to protection from disease. However, the exact sugars and bacteria, as well as the process by which they provide protection, has not been defined. I will determine this using maternal and preterm infant samples, alongside models I have developed for studying the preterm gut. My work will shed new light on how the preterm gut can be modified to promote health. The sugars and bacteria which promote health may refine clinical practise or provide optimal targets for the development of therapeutics for preterm infants.