Dr. Sara Moukarzel

Dr. Sara Moukarzel
Erziehungswissenschaftlerin und Programmmanagerin, University of California San Diego über das Stipendienprogramm TEP (Trainee Expansion Program)

ISRHML, The International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation, arbeitet zusammen mit der Stiftung daran, TEP in ressourcenarmen Regionen einzuführen. Glauben Sie, dass damit weitreichende Wirkung erzielt werden kann?

Ich bin überzeugt, dass TEP nicht nur in ressourcenarmen Regionen, sondern auch in ressourcenstarken Regionen Vorteile bringt, denn Vielfalt bereichert und Ideenvielfalt führt zu neuen Wegen der Problemlösung. Als Sie sich bei TEP engagierten, waren Sie selbst Studentin in der Muttermilchforschung. Was brachte Sie auf die Idee? Das war vor über sieben Jahren. Damals gab es noch keine Förderprogramme für die Muttermilchforschung. Um die Ausbildung fortzusetzen, mussten wir uns auf Stellen in Biologie, Physiologie und Ernährung bewerben, wo das Thema Ernährung und Gesundheit bei Frühgeborenen finanziell unterstützt wurden. Es war viel schwieriger, sein Vorhaben gegen andere wichtige Forschungsanliegen durchzubringen und für die Finanzierung von Muttermilchforschung zu werben. 

Als ISRHML anfing, junge Forschende anzuziehen und das Interesse an der Muttermilchforschung stieg, dachten Lars Bode und ich: Wer kann das besser als ISRHML und die Stiftung?

 Wenn wir uns Kompetenzen in unterschiedlichen Forschungsgruppen aneignen, können wir Kosten sparen, die durch die Zentralisierung einer bestimmten Fähigkeit oder Ressource in einem Teil der Welt entstehen. Wenn junge Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler an neue Orte reisen, können sie Netzwerke aufbauen und Beziehungen knüpfen. Daraus können Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten und Forschungskooperationen entstehen. Wie grossartig wäre es, wenn es als Ergebnis des TEP-Programms gelänge, den Prozess zwischen Forschung und Umsetzung in die Praxis und im Ausbildungsbereich zu beschleunigen?

TEP ist jetzt in Phase 2 (TEP 2.0). Inwieweit entspricht die Weiterentwicklung Ihren Erwartungen?

Die Abwicklung des Programms und die Vergabe von mehr als 40 Stipendien, sogar während der COVID-Pandemie, sind ein Beweis für das grosse Engagement von ISRHML und der Stiftung. Ich sehe eine gewisse Redundanz bei den Forschungsgruppen, die TEP nutzen. Deshalb ermutige ich mehr und andere Forschungsgruppen, Studierende für TEP zu gewinnen. Ich freue mich auf weitere Erfolgsgeschichten und darauf, die Karriereschritte der Stipendiaten zu verfolgen und die Wirkung ihrer Forschungsaktivitäten in der Praxis zu sehen.

Extended interview, in English

How might a TEP grant open a new door for an early career researcher? 

TEP grants give trainees the flexibility to apply the funds to their own specific research aims, so every trainee’s journey is going to be unique. But having the chance to develop a new skill or be mentored by an expert in a different location and build up a network with other human milk and breastfeeding researchers is in general a really valuable opportunity for a trainee.   

The International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) and the Foundation are working to introduce TEP grants in different parts of the world, particularly low-resource settings. Do you think this can help TEP achieve far-reaching impact?

I strongly believe that TEP can achieve this far-reaching goal to have impact not just for the low resource settings themselves, but also for the world. If we think of the current barriers as to why a lot of the problems with human milk or breastfeeding research continue to take place in low-resource settings, we can identify barriers such as lack of resources, lack of expertise, lack of collaborations with funding agencies that are willing to support research in these settings, and lack of programs to support parents. And what the TEP program is doing is helping young individuals exit their settings temporarily, or even sometimes remain in their own settings, but develop skills that would allow them to address problems specific to their individual settings. 

I would say the idea of connecting low resource settings to high resource settings also benefits high resource settings because with diversity comes enrichment – and it's the enrichment of ideas that can lead to new ways to tackle problems.

So to wrap up, yes, I do believe that this goal is challenging to achieve but with consistency and hard work, TEP awardees can achieve the Foundation’s and ISRHML’s missions.

When you were involved with launching TEP, you were a student in breastfeeding and breastmilk research yourself. What gave you the idea for the TEP initiative? 

That was more than seven years ago and at the time, it’s hard to believe, there was no such thing as a breastfeeding research support program. For us trainees to be able to get support to continue with our training, whether it was through a postdoc or through a bridge fund, meant we had to apply for opportunities under biology, physiology, or nutrition for example, at an organization that would fund, let’s say, preterm nutrition and health. But there was no funding program that was so focused on human milk research. And this made it much harder for us to make the case against all the other important research questions out there, that investments from these organizations needed to be made in breastfeeding and breastmilk research itself. 

Also, what was even harder was, though we believed that small travel funds which would allow people to temporarily visit other labs or other research groups, learn a skill, and come back to their home lab would be extremely beneficial to trainees – the concept was just so foreign. With ISRHML starting to attract trainees and with more interest being generated around human milk research itself, around the world, Lars Bode and I thought, well, “Who can better do that, than ISRHML and the Foundation together?” Then, as the TEP concept was being developed, it was expanded to also include the longer-term Trainee Bridge Fund, which would cover activities over one year and lead to an independent career.  

Does the partnership with ISRHML and the Foundation have other benefits besides financial aspects?

The partnership is not only financially beneficial for the trainees themselves. You could also think about benefits that are related to expertise sharing and actually improving efficiency. So if we are able to learn skills across different research groups, then we can cut down on costs that result from only centralizing a specific skill or resource in one area in the world.

And I’m sure you also agree that by having our trainees travel to new places, they can start also networking and building relationships  which can turn into funding opportunities … into research collaborations. And how great would it be, if, in the very long term, one of the outcomes of the TEP program would be to expedite the process between conducting research and that same research making it to clinical care and educational settings?  

TEP is now in its second season (TEP 2.0), awarding over 40 grants totaling well over USD 1 million. How has TEP’s evolution matched your expectations?

There is no doubt that there are so many barriers along the way. Being able to administer the program and award more than 40 grants, even during the time of the COVID pandemic, is really a testament to the commitment of ISRHML and the Foundation to support the TEP program and trainees. Its evolution is really nice to follow. And what I would hope that the program would achieve is to reach research groups that haven’t yet been involved with the TEP program before, be it the trainees themselves receiving awards, or be it the receiving institutions that host the trainees. 

I do see some redundancy in the research groups that are leveraging the TEP program. I encourage more and different research groups to reach out and try to attract trainees to take advantage of the TEP program and potentially travel to various areas in the world to continue to advance research in human milk and breastfeeding. I look forward to more milestones and more success stories from the program, and I most importantly look forward to seeing how the awardees develop their careers over the next few years and what kind of impact they are making on the field itself.

Is there anything else you wish to add?

I also want to just highlight one note about the importance of the Foundation in supporting MOMI CORE (Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence at University of California San Diego). I was a MOMI CORE fellow and I was supported for five years through the Foundation during my postdoctoral studies at UCSD. And I cannot emphasize the importance of that program. 

The Foundation’s vision to support postdocs in innovative areas of research that are often untraditional in the breastfeeding research world is cutting edge. The fact that they’re willing to put in the money to support risky but highly innovative ideas is excellent and unique. Without that commitment I would not have had the opportunity to bridge breastfeeding research to education studies where we think about social networks and social network interactions and their impact on how we communicate about breastfeeding. (Read more about this work here.)

All the best as you celebrate the 10 years of the Foundation!