Dominick Lemas, Ph.D., delivered the keynote address at the 2019 IDeaA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Research Retreat at the University of Alaska in Talkeetna, Alaska, on September 21. Lemas, an assistant professor in UF’s department of health outcomes and biomedical informatics (HOBI), presented “Human milk metabolomics and microbe-host interactions associated with pediatric obesity.”
The Alaska INBRE program is part of the National Institutes of Health’s INBRE networks, which promote the development, coordination and sharing of research resources and expertise to expand NIH research opportunities and enhance biomedical research. Lemas earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2012.
Dr. Lemas’ research at UF focuses on understanding the fetal origins of pediatric obesity. With funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), he is currently investigating how human milk and exclusive breastfeeding in the first year of a child’s life protect against childhood obesity. The NIDDK is part of the National Institutes of Health.
“It was an honor and privilege to share my research and lessons learned during the past 10 years with some of my mentors and current students at my alma mater,” said Lemas.