NCT06870981

Optimizing Nutrition and Milk (Opti-NuM) Project

Improving Growth and Neurodevelopment of Very Low Birth Weight Infants Through Precision Nutrition: The Optimizing Nutrition and Milk (Opti-NuM) Project

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 1,100 (estimated)
• Sponsor: The Hospital for Sick Children · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 1 Hour – 21 Days
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Early nutrition critically influences growth, neurodevelopment and morbidity among infants born of very low birth weight (VLBW), but current one-size-fits-all feeding regimes do not optimally support these vulnerable infants. There is increasing interest in "precision nutrition" approaches, but it is unclear which Human Milk (HM) components require personalized adjustment of doses. Previous efforts have focused on macronutrients, but HM also contains essential micronutrients as well as non-nutrient bioactive components that shape the gut microbiome. Further, it is unclear if or how parental factors (e.g. body mass index, diet) and infant factors (e.g. genetics, gut microbiota, sex, acuity) influence relationships between early nutrition and growth, neurodevelopment and morbidity. Understanding these complex relationships is paramount to developing effective personalized HM feeding strategies for VLBW infants. This is the overarching goal of the proposed Optimizing Nutrition and Milk (Opti-NuM) Project. The Opti-NuM Project brings together two established research platforms with complementary expertise and resources: 1) the MaxiMoM Program\* with its clinically embedded translational neonatal feeding trial network in Toronto (Dr. Deborah O'Connor, Dr. Sharon Unger) and 2) the International Milk Composition (IMiC) Consortium, a world-renowned multidisciplinary network of HM researchers and data scientists collaborating to understand how the myriad of HM components contribute "as a whole" to infant growth and development, using systems biology and machine learning approaches. Members of the IMiC Corsortium that will work with on this study are located at the University of Manitoba (Dr. Meghan Azad), University of California (Dr. Lars Bode) and Stanford (Dr. Nima Aghaeepour).

Detailed description

Observational study mode: The Opti-NuM Project is a retrospective secondary data/sample use study. Time perspective: Secondary use data and biospecimens accruing from the 2 completed studies DoMINO and OptiMOM (NCT02137473) and 1 ongoing RCT MaxiMoM (NCT05308134) are included in this project. Sampling method: This project is a secondary use of data/samples, from a cohort consisting of participants of the MaxiMoM Platform RCTs.

Conditions

• Very Low Birth Weight Baby
• Early Nutrition and the Preterm Infant
• Nutritional Requirements
• Human Milk Fortification
• Human Milk Microbiome
• Human Milk Feeding
• Human Milk Nutrition
• Growth &Amp; Development

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Opti-NuM is an observational secondary use of data/samples study, the investigators will analyze information and specimens from the MaxiMoM platform RCTs. No interventions form part of this study.

Timeline

• Start date: 2010-10-01
• Primary completion: 2026-12-01
• Completion: 2027-12-01
• First posted: 2025-03-11
• Last updated: 2025-03-11

Locations

6 sites across 2 countries: United States, Canada