Dr. Mills and Foods for Health Institute colleagues Carlito Lebrilla and Bruce German are partners in a large $8.3M grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation entitled "Breast Milk, Gut Microbiome and Immunity Project".  This project is lead by Jeff Gordon at Washington University and involves researchers in Africa, Finland, England and the USA.  The focus of the project is on two aspects: (1) screening milk and feces from at risk mothers/babies in developing countries and (2) developing a preclinical pipeline to test novel bovine milk-based prebiotics and milk-responsive bacteria (or combinations of both) that can protectively modulate the gut microbiota of malnourished children worldwide.   The FFHI team of Lebrilla, German and Mills will be involved in both arms of this large project.  Importantly the project will also involve new FST Assistant Professor Daniela Barile to oversee the the creation/capture of novel glycans/glycoconjugates from bovine milk streams using the new Food Science & Technology Milk Processing Lab in the August A. Busch III Brewing & Food Science Laboratory.

For more detail on this project see the UC Davis Foods for Heath Institute site.