The complexities of human milk and infant brain development
A James R. Carter Sr. Memorial Award is supporting doctoral student Blakely Lockhart as she studies how maternal health and infant nutrition shape early neurodevelopment.
Blakely Lockhart, a doctoral student in Virginia Tech’s Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program, received a fellowship to support her research and advocacy. Lockhart works alongside Brittany Howell, an associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, to investigate how infant nutrition and feeding influence early growth and brain development. Photo by Clayton Metz for Virginia Tech.
In high school, Blakely Lockhart’s interest in human development started early, in a specialty center program in education and human development. While there, she developed dysautonomia, a nervous system disorder that pushed her to think more deeply about the brain and what happens when its development goes awry.
“All humans begin life relying on human milk for nourishment and growth,” Lockhart said. Yet there’s much to learn about how its composition supports the developing infant. “Differences in brain structural development between human milk-fed and formula-fed infants suggests unique components and characteristics.”
Lockhart, who is conducting research with Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC neuroscientist Brittany Howell, earned a James R. Carter Sr. Memorial Award from the Swing It to End It organization to support her work. The $5,000 fellowship supports Virginia Tech graduate students working under a faculty mentor at the institute in Roanoke. Annette Carter created the awards to honor and remember her late husband by supporting translational neuroscience research that has the potential to provide insights into Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. The awards are funded through a golf tournament and other charitable events.
Howell’s lab explores infant brain development by analyzing breast milk composition, feeding habits, brain imaging data, and other biological and behavioral analysis. She is an investigator on the National Institutes of Health-sponsored Healthy Brain and Child Development Study, the largest long-term, multisite study of its kind in the United States. The goal of the study is to better understand how social and environmental experiences and conditions affect child development.
Lockhart works alongside Howell, associate professor at the institute, to investigate how infant nutrition and feeding practices influence early growth and brain development.
After high school, Lockhart earned a degree in neuroscience with minors in leadership and biology from Christopher Newport University, where she served as a peer mentor, was a writing associate for a neuroscience course, and conducted research in sex differences in spatial learning and memory and contributed to research into olfactory testing as a diagnostic tool for Alzheimer’s disease — all while managing her health challenges.
Now a doctoral candidate in Virginia Tech’s Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program, Lockhart contributes to translational infant development research that spans laboratory analyses of human milk composition, behavioral assessments of infants and families, and survey data on maternal and infant characteristics. As a doctoral candidate, Lockhart has access to the research institute’s unique neuroimaging tools and techniques, including MRI for infants.
“My proposed work under this fellowship lays the foundation for independent research and will provide the necessary expertise to identify potentially mechanistic correlations in infant growth,” Lockhart said. She is investigating the presence of exosomes and their miRNA cargo in human milk and the underlying mechanisms of human milk composition and function. She hopes her research will help inform infant dietary guidelines, maternal health strategies, and best practices in infant nutrition to support brain health.
“Blakely joined our program with a stellar academic background,” Howell said. “Her academic rigor has seamlessly translated into her graduate coursework and research, where she consistently ranks among the top of her cohort.”
Howell said Lockhart’s work already has led to presentations at national and international conferences, impactful publications, and a Young Investigator Award from the Fetal, Infant, & Toddler Neuroimaging Group. “Blakely is not only an exceptional scholar and researcher; she is also a future leader in biomedical science.”
Lockhart’s commitment to connecting science and society extends beyond the lab. She is one of only 10 students nationwide chosen to represent the Society for Neuroscience as an early career policy ambassador. She has received training in policy and advocacy, met with members of Congress about federal biomedical research funding, and organized community events. She also serves as president of the Roanoke Graduate Student Association, where she advocates for student support initiatives.
