Infant & Child Nutrition

The Department of Nutrition is proud to celebrate Dr. Lauren Au, who has been selected to receive the 2026 Mary P. Huddleson Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation.

This month, we are celebrating World Breastfeeding Month by sharing one student's path from bench researcher to an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.

For many graduate students, doctoral training focuses on generating new knowledge through research. But at UC Davis, students interested in maternal and child health have an opportunity to go one step further by learning how to translate that research into meaningful support for families.

Every August, National Breastfeeding Month invites us to celebrate nursing parents and their dedication. But it also offers an opportunity to reconsider how science and public health approach one of the most foundational aspects of human development: nutrition in early life.

What makes a baby healthy—and what does the latest research say?

In the Department of Nutrition and the Graduate Group in Nutritional Biology at UC Davis, our scientists are diving deep into the wonders of human milk — from its unique composition to how it shapes lifelong health.

The nationwide baby formula shortage two years ago forced many parents to involuntarily switch brands or types. A recent survey from researchers at the University of California, Davis, highlights how these substitutions led to undesirable effects for babies, including vomiting. The study was published in the journal Nutrients.