A researcher at the UAB Department of Pediatrics has received a three-year R34 grant totaling $634,334, pioneering research in optimizing early milk nutrition to improve lung development and reduce respiratory morbidity in preterm infants.

Ariel Salas, MD, associate professor in the Division of Neonatology, along with his research team, received this funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to support a clinical trial focused on improving outcomes for extremely preterm infants. These infants face a high risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a lung disease associated with long-term health challenges.

Salas and his team will explore whether optimizing early human milk nutrition by enhancing key fatty acids, including docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid, during the first two weeks of life can improve lung development and reduce respiratory morbidity. The study aims to generate data that could transform neonatal nutrition practices and improve long-term outcomes for preterm infants.