ISRHML
The International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation
ISRHML
The International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE - 2022/3

President: Daniel Sellen

Dan trained in zoology & biological anthropology (MA, University of Oxford), anthropology (MA, University of Michigan), theoretical ecology & international nutrition (PhD, University of California, Davis) & evolutionary demography (Leverhulme Postdoctoral Fellow, University College London,). Daniel Sellen currently directs The Joannah and Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition as Distinguished Professor of Anthropology & Global Health in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Professor of Nutritional Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine, & Professor of Social & Behavioral Health Sciences in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

President Elect: Carol Wagner

Carol is an attending neonatologist and tenured Professor of Pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina. She has been a member of the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) since 1995 and was the conference organizer for the ISRHML conference on Kiawah Island, South Carolina held in 2014. She also is an inaugural Fellow in the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, a member of AAP’s Breastfeeding and Perinatal sections, and has been elected to the Society of Pediatric Research, the American Pediatric Society, and the American Society for Nutritional Sciences. Her clinical activities as a neonatologist dovetail with her strong research interests in human milk, lactation and vitamin D. Dr. Wagner has written extensively about breastfeeding, growth factors and structure in human milk, and vitamin D requirements and its function in pregnant and lactating women. She has been PI and co-investigator on several grants involving vitamin D supplementation of pregnant and lactating women and their infants.

Secretary: Janet Williams

Janet is a senior research scientist in the Animal, Veterinary, and Food Sciences department at the University of Idaho. Janet was trained in animal science (BS and MS, Oklahoma State University) with a focus on maternal recognition of pregnancy, and in bioinformatics and computational biology (PhD, University of Idaho) with a focus on microbiomes of mothers and their nursing offspring. Janet has worked in the field of nutrition, lactational physiology, and milk research for over 20 years. She has been a member of ISRHML since 2012. Janet served on the first trainee interest group (TIG) governing board and was the 2nd TIG president. Janet is excited about the opportunity to serve as secretary for the society and hopes to continue to improve the communications to the general membership as well as to others who are interested.

Treasurer: Diane Spatz

Diane is a Professor of Perinatal Nursing & the Helen M. Shearer Professor of Nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing sharing a joint appointment as a nurse scientist in lactation the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the Center for Pediatric Nursing Research and Evidence Based Practice. Dr. Spatz is the Founder of the CHOP Lactation Program & Mothers’ Milk Bank. Dr. Spatz is an active researcher, clinician, and educator who is internationally recognized for her work surrounding the use of human milk and breastfeeding particularly in vulnerable populations. Dr. Spatz has been PI or co-investigator on over 60 research grants, included several from the NIH.  She has authored and co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and written numerous book chapters related to human milk and breastfeeding.

Past President: Bert Koletzko

Bert is a Professor of Pediatrics and Head the Div. of Metabolic Diseases and Nutritional Medicine at Hauner Children’s Hospital, LMU University of Munich, Germany. Bert trained in Pediatric Departments in Germany, South Africa, Tanzania and Canada. He is a long-time member of ISRHML and currently serves on the Executive Committee. Bert’s goal as President is to continue strengthening our society as a science-based organization serving as the leading global platform for exchanging, discussing and facilitating research in the truly interdisciplinary area of human milk and lactation science.

Councilors

Elizabeth Johnson, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Ellen Demerath, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Alex Anderson, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

Richmond Aryeetey, University of Ghana, Ghana

Katsumi Mizuno, Department of Pediatrics, Showa University School of Medicine, Japan

Alecia-Jane Twigger, University of Cambridge, UK

Sonia Hernández-Cordero, Universidad Iberoamericana, México

Kirsi Järvinen-Seppo, University of Rochester School of Medicine, New York, USA

Tricia Johnson, Rush University, Chicago, USA

Term

2024

2024

2024

2025

2025

2025

2025

2026

2026

Executive Office

Executive Office: Loraine Lugasi & Lesley Jennings –  [email protected]