Friday 12 June 2026 9:00am to 5:00pm
Department of Pharmacology, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge
About
Registration open on Eventbrite
The symposium will bring together researchers, clinicians and practitioners across disciplines for a day of presentations showcasing the breadth of lactation research, spanning fields from archaeology and evolution to public health, nutrition and biology.
Programme
9:15 Registration
9:30 Welcome and introduction: CLN - Overview and goals
Geula Hanin and Alecia-Jane Twigger
Session 1 Breastfeeding Across Time, Society and Population Health
Chair: Dr Geula Hanin - University of Cambridge
9:45 Of pots and bones - Investigating milk exploitation in Prehistory
Dr Melanie Roffet-Salque - University of Bristol
10:30 ‘Unnatural’ geographies of breastfeeding in traditional European societies
Prof Romola Davenport - University of Cambridge
11:00 Beyond the nuclear family: the importance of maternal support networks for maternal and child health
Prof Rebecca Sear - Brunel University London
11:30 Modern and rare book display from the Cambridge Library collection
11:40 Coffee Break
Session 2 Clinical barriers to breastfeeding and maternal experiences
Chair: Dr Alecia-Jane Twigger - University of Cambridge
12:10 Community-Led Human Milk Banking in Africa: The story of Uganda's ATTA Breastmilk Community
Dr Tracy Ahumuza - University of Cambridge
12:35 Lactation: A Superpower in Peril
Sarah Oakley - Sarah Oakley Lactation limited
13:00 Lived Experience of Breastfeeding and Growth Hormone Treatment
Interview by Dr Gaby Oxley - CAMB Mom volunteer
13:30 Lunch
Session 3 - Human Milk Biology and Translational Research
Chair: Prof Dr Albert Koulman (University of Cambridge)
14:30 Cambridgeshire Multiomics of Milk study
Dr Alecia-Jane Twigger - University of Cambridge
14:55 Breastfeeding interventions in women with diabetes
Dr Sarah Dib - University of Leicester
15:20 Breast Cancer Early Detection from Breast Milk (BRACELET-BM)
Dr Niki Flaum - University of Manchester
Session 4 - Milk as a communication system
Chair: Gabrielle Oxley (University of Cambridge)
15:45 Bile Salt Stimulated Lipase: A Secreted Extra-Organismal RNA-binding Protein in Breast Milk
Dr Antinéa Ravet - University of Cambridge
16:05 Adaptation of early-life Bifidobacterium breve to human lifestyles
Dr Oprah Taylor - Wellcome Sanger Institute
16:30 Closing remarks - Albert Koulman (University of Cambridge)
16:45 Evening reception
We hope this event will bring together interested members of our community to learn more about research in this space as well as offer a networking opportunity. Please register via our Eventbrite link here.
If you would like to learn more about our network, please see our webpage on Cambridge Reproduction and to learn more about upcoming events, please join our mailing list here.
Supported by the Cambridge Reproduction Events Fund