In Canada, 22 to 24 per cent of women are diagnosed with obesity at the time of conception. In Manitoba, that rate is considerably higher than the national average at 28 per cent.
“A lot of a baby’s immune system at the very beginning of life comes straight from the mom’s milk. Milk also contains hormones and growth factors that are tailored for different stages of development, and a complex microbiome that helps establish baby’s gut.
Sanoji Wijenayake博士
孕产妇肥胖不仅影响母亲的健康，而且还对婴儿早期关键时期（例如妊娠和泌乳时期）的发育产生了深远的影响。肥胖母亲出生的婴儿经常表现出代谢功能障碍（II型糖尿病，高血压，高于平均体重），炎症和行为不规则。
Sanoji Wijenayake博士, Assistant Professor with The University of Winnipeg’s Department of Biology, has received a Manitoba Medical Service Foundation Operating Grant to research the neurodevelopmental effects of maternal obesity exposure and to characterize the functional roles of milk exosomes, a new class of nanovesicles abundant in mammalian milk.
According to Dr. Wijenayake, breastfeeding is proposed as an effective solution to combat the risks of obesity in children.
但是，Wijenayake博士说，对这种保护作用的细胞和分子机制知之甚少，对于孕产妇肥胖如何形成牛奶的生物活性成分的了解甚至更少。
The main objective of her work is to characterize the role of maternal milk as a biological regulator of early postnatal development and growth. Her lab will use cell culture techniques, an obesity-centric rodent model, microscopy, advanced molecular and biochemistry toolkits, and Next Generation Sequencing technologies.
支持本科研究
科里·桑德森（Corey Sanderson）和弗兰（Fran）的陶器是两名本科生，他们今年夏天在Wijenayake的实验室开始工作。
桑德森（Sanderson）于2016年在Uwinnipeg开始学习，并完成了生物学学士学位，心理学学士学位，并正在为神经科学的理学学士学位。由于最先进的理查森环境与科学综合大楼，他被大学吸引了。
在了解Wijenayake博士在他的四年级生物学课上的研究之后，他与她联系了有关参与她的研究的联系。
“I thought this type of research and its findings could impact Indigenous health and communities,” Sandersonsaid, adding he has a deep interest in biology, health, medicine, research, and Indigenous community health.
作为一名本科生，对他来说，将他的课堂学习与真正的研究机会相结合非常重要。
“I think the University does a great job at making sure everyone who attends UWinnipeg gets a good understanding that there is research out there, and that it is important to the greater of society and academics,” Sanderson said.
2019年，Callial开始在Uwinnipeg学习，主修神经科学。
他们在秋季去生物学混音师去一家生物学混音师后，遇到了Wijenayake博士，弄清楚谁在下一学年与他们的荣誉论文一起工作。
“Dr. Wijenayake was there and talked about her research, and it really piqued my interest,” Obtial recalled. “I contacted her, and she kindly welcomed me into her lab.”
As an undergraduate student, it was important for them to gain research experience because the skills learned can be applied to many different career paths.
陶艺专门指出，解决问题，时间管理，写作建议和沟通技巧是转化为所有领域的研究工作的重要方面。
他们说：“研究并不适合所有人，但是这些研究经验可以使您重新考虑自己的道路。”“例如，我没有看到自己在本科学位上进行任何研究，因为大流行使这很困难，教授们有点令人生畏，但是现在我正在追求研究生院。”
Dr. Wijenayake is passionate about equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigenization of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and plans to recruit students belonging to underrepresented groups into her research program at UWinnipeg to help build the next generation of scientists.
“When I was an undergraduate, I didn’t see many professors that looked like me. So, now it is my responsibility to try and change that.”
Milk is more than just food
When talking about maternal milk, Dr. Wijenayake says most people just think of it as food for babies.
但是，这不仅仅是一种很好的营养形式。实际上，这也是免疫力的重要来源。
“A lot of a baby’s immune system at the very beginning of life comes straight from the mom’s milk,” she explained. “Milk also contains hormones and growth factors that are tailored for different stages of development, and a complex microbiome that helps establish baby’s gut.”
Recently, a group of small, fat-coated nanovesicles known as milk-derived exosomes were discovered in breastmilk. This is one of the main things Dr. Wijenayake is studying.
“These tiny nanovesicles transport nucleic acids (microRNAs), small proteins, enzymes, and fats from mothers to their offspring during feeding. They are also extremely stable, survive digestion, and are excellent at migrating across complex cell barriers, including the gut lining and the blood brain barrier,” she explained.
Milk exosomes have tremendous therapeutic potential to be used as effective drug carriers that surpass the limitations of currently used drug delivery vehicles (synthetic liposomes).
她说：“这是一个非常酷的发现，因为现在我们知道，即使在婴儿出生后，妈妈们仍会使用这些微小的小脂肪液滴来塑造其成长轨迹。”牛奶外泌体也对压力敏感。
“Maternal obesity is a potent early life stress that may change the amount of these tiny little droplets in milk, as well as their cargo. Again, this is an area that requires immediate research, and I am excited to delve into this new field.”
