Human Milk Institute
UC San Diego's central hub to advance human milk from molecular discoveries to local and global public health impact
Creating a More Equitable Future Through Human Milk
At the Human Milk Institute (HMI), we bring organizations at the forefront of human milk research, clinical care, milk banking, education, and public and global health together to expand our understanding of human milk so we can apply that knowledge and improve lifelong health worldwide.
The Time is Now — The Place is HMI
Human milk has been historically viewed as solely an infant nutrition concern. This perspective created a data and research deficit that has had a lasting impact on the lifelong health of everyone on earth.
At HMI, we rely on a firm commitment to evidence-based data to reveal what human milk holds for us, from infant development and understanding the effects of medications on milk composition to providing equitable access to milk, educating clinicians and so much more.
A Central Hub to Advance Human Milk
HMI is the epicenter of data and expertise in human milk to inform areas across research, education, clinical care and global public health.
Analytical Research
HMI's Milk Analytics Core (MAC) is the world's first entity dedicated to technology development, innovation, and analysis in human milk for both academic and commercial organizations.
Epidemiology & Data Science
HMI will help shape public health by opening access to a human milk data repository and actionable analytics in human milk for clinicians, educators and policymakers.
Education
Located at UC San Diego, a top research and clinical education institution, HMI is uniquely positioned to formalize the study of human lactology and aid in training future generations of researchers, clinicians and educators.
Engagement & Commercialization
HMI will partner with mission-driven organizations to explore applications for human milk across areas that will transform global health including nutrition, therapeutics and diagnostics.
Community Outreach
Together with our partners, HMI programs strive to provide avenues by which we can empower communities with new information and equitable access to human milk.
Rapid Response
HMI is creating an infrastructure for rapidly analyzing the impact of pandemics and other health threats on human milk. Together we can provide reliable information to health care providers and the public when it’s needed most.
HMI Symposium 2024
Monday & Tuesday, March 18 & 19, 2024
Program and speaker lineup has been announced!
Register today!
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Partner with us
Interested in collaborating on a project or joining our team? Let’s connect and change global health through human milk together.