Appeal to new mums to help with study
New mums are being asked by academics at the University of Bradford to donate hair and nail clippings from their newborns as part of a first-of-its-kind study.
Participants will receive regular visits form a qualified paediatric dietician and get to take part in a study that could benefit thousands of people.
PhD student Corinne Feuillatre, from the Faculty of Life Sciences, pictured below, who spent 20 years working as a professional paediatric dietician, is leading the study.
She said: “We are asking mothers with newborn babies to donate hair and nail clippings over the first 12 months of their life along with a sample of their own hair. We will then analyse these using mass-spectrometry to identify protein markers. We hope to use this information to better understand how diet is recorded in people’s hair and nails during pregnancy and early infancy.”
Corinne has already successfully used a similar technique to identify changes in the proteins that make up people’s teeth as markers that indicate pregnancy and puberty. It is hoped that this new study will enable scientists to explore ways of detecting various health conditions early in life.
Corinne said: “We hope to use this information to gain a better understanding of nutrition and how that is recorded in hair and nails. Once we have that information, we hope it will enable us to develop techniques that will allow us to more easily identify children who may be at risk of a range of health conditions, from diabetes and obesity to heart conditions.”
She added: “Mothers who agree to take part in this study will be helping to advance the scientific understanding of the relationship between diet and growth. They will also get the opportunity to have their baby’s growth monitored by a qualified paediatric dietician. The information we gain from this study will be invaluable, but in order for the study to be successful, we do need new mums to sign up.”
Dietary markers
Dr Julia Beaumont, a former dentist of 30 years turned forensic archaeologist, who developed a new technique that enables scientists to more accurately look at a person’s diet through an examination of their teeth, said: “The first thousand days of your life are very important. Research has shown a link between a low birth weight and health problems in later life.
“What we are attempting to do with this study is to design a method for understanding the relationship between dietary markers and growth. This will enable us to identify risk factors at an early age so that appropriate interventions can be put in place to improve people’s life chances and opportunities.”
Mothers who would like to take part should ideally live within or close to a BD postcode so that Corinne can visit periodically and be willing to donate hair and nail clippings from their baby for a period of up to 12 months.
To find out more or to take part in the study, please email: c.m.m.feuillatre@bradford.ac.uk