Profile: Ardythe Morrow Takes a Worldwide View of Child Health
"I'm an entrepreneur. My dad was a CEO. Starting up new ventures is what we do!"
That drive to make things happen, combined with an intense commitment to improving child health, has kept Ardythe Morrow, PhD, very busy in the four years since she joined Cincinnati Children's. Recruited to direct and develop the Center for Epidemiology and Biostatistics and recognized for her research on human breast milk, Dr. Morrow also is working to create a cohesive international presence for Cincinnati Children's.
"I've always been internationally motivated. Epidemiology is about understanding the health of populations, which is key to international health," she explains. A master's degree program in Jamaica exposed her firsthand to the challenges of developing nations. Working with faculty from the University of London, she realized the strong correlation between the high rate of infectious diseases and diarrhea and the low rate of breastfeeding.
"I decided then that I wanted to bring science to the art of breastfeeding in the service of mothers, babies and doctors around the world. If breastfeeding were enacted optimally worldwide, 1.5 million lives could be saved each year," Dr. Morrow says.
A program project grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and several translational research grants fund her current studies on breastfeeding and human milk bioactive factors, a multidisciplinary effort involving seven other medical center divisions.
New Insights Into Breast Milk
"We're looking at multiple kinds of issues and outcomes related to how breast milk affects infant health and development. What are the bioactive factors in human milk that protect infants against infectious diseases? How do environmental contaminants affect mom and baby? How can breast milk protect against obesity and Type 2 diabetes? And how may human milk relate to the development and risk of allergies?"
A major theme in Dr. Morrow's work is the role of oligosaccharides, the third most common component in human breast milk after lactose and lipids. "Their role is not to provide energy, but rather to provide immune protection," she explains. "Because oligosaccharides are not digested, they pass through the gastrointestinal tract intact. They inhibit pathogens from binding to the cell surface in a baby's gut, thus preventing infection."
Although much research remains to be done, this finding could represent the emergence of a novel class of antimicrobials to help prevent infection in populations beyond breastfeeding infants. "This could take the pressure off current antibiotics, because pathogens causing disease do not appear to develop resistance to the oligosaccharides of human milk," Dr. Morrow says.
Reaching Out to China
Although she believes that pursuing the promise of this research will take the rest of her career, Dr. Morrow also is cultivating the potential of Cincinnati Children's in establishing a major presence in international health. Creating the new Bang Bao Research Scholar Program (Bang Bao means "helping precious children" in Chinese) is the first step.
A collaboration between Cincinnati Children's and Procter & Gamble's baby care division, the program is enabling Cincinnati Children's to get to know Chinese pediatric and perinatal institutions and develop relationships with them, as well as globalize the medical center's research programs.
Earlier this year, 11 representatives from Cincinnati Children's visited six cities in China, speaking at 11 hospitals and medical schools and interviewing program candidates. "The level of enthusiasm was extraordinary and gratifying. We received 30 applications for five positions, so it was very competitive," Dr. Morrow says. The five selected Chinese researchers, all junior to mid-career faculty from pediatric or maternity hospitals, will come to Cincinnati Children's for one year of research and training. In addition, scholars will receive $25,000 each for continued research at their home institutions in China, funded by P&G.
"It's an honor and an opportunity to build the Center for Epidemiology and Biostatistics and our international health program," Dr. Morrow says. When she's not hard at work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, including her 17-year-old son, Justin, and perfecting her new avocation, ballroom dancing.
"When we build international relationships, everyone learns more," she says. "Cincinnati Children's has so much to offer the world and so much to learn."
Dr. Morrow is professor and director, Center for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, at Cincinnati Children's. Her most recent papers on the role of human milk oligosaccharides were published in The Journal of Pediatrics (2004;145:297-303) and Journal of Nutrition (2005;135:1304-1307) and were supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation.
