Giving babies the best start

Research

A PhD student investigating the optimal protein nutrition to give premature babies the best start in life is the University of Adelaide's inaugural Three Minute Thesis winner.

Jacqueline Miller, from the Discipline of Paediatrics in Health Sciences, won both the overall and the People's Choice prizes in the competition finals, held as part of the University's Open Day.

Jacqui was one of 10 PhD students who had just three minutes to present their research projects and explain their significance to a panel of judges and a large public audience.

Jacqui's research is helping to determine the amount of protein that should be added to breast milk fed to promote growth in small premature babies who are unable to feed themselves and still have immature digestive systems.

"The rate of premature birth is increasing in our society and smaller and smaller babies are now being saved, some weighing less than 500g - the size of a tub of margarine," Jacqui said.

"They are very difficult to feed and we struggle to provide them with enough nutrients to grow as well as if they'd stayed inside the womb. Better growth during this critical time of brain development may improve their later performance."

Jacqui said she thought the Three Minute Thesis competition was a great event for many reasons: "We all tend to beaver away in our own little area without much idea of what else is going on," she said. "This was a great opportunity to hear other students present a diverse array of work and do some networking.

"It's also very important to have opportunities to hone our communication skills and our ability to translate complex research into messages anyone can understand and see how it's applicable to them - otherwise, why do we do it?"

Jacqui has worked in the area of paediatric nutrition and dietetics at the Women's and Children's Hospital on and off over 20 years while bringing up her own children.

"Professor Maria Makrides (Jacqui's supervisor and Professor of Human Nutrition at the University of Adelaide) and her research group were at the other end of the corridor conducting nutrition research into various areas of paediatric and maternal health. I've always admired the quality of their work and their world-class reputation," she said.

Jacqui is also a part-time lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at Flinders University and plans to expand her research and teaching on the completion of her PhD.

She is representing the University of Adelaide in the Australian and New Zealand Three Minute Thesis finals at the University of Queensland this month.

Story by Robyn Mills