MAMA Lab

08/04/2026

Partnership is at the heart of every participant we enrol 🤝🇰🇭

This week, we welcomed representatives from Cambodia's National Nutrition Program, the Provincial Health Department, Operational Districts, and local health centres for field visits across all of our study districts.

Together, we visited participating women in their communities as they shared their experiences in the study, observed study activities, enrolled more women, collected blood samples, and continued strengthening the partnerships that make high-quality maternal nutrition research possible.

As we continue enrolling pregnant women into our study, we're grateful for the dedication of our participants, communities, and partners who are working together to improve maternal and child health in Cambodia 💙

07/21/2026

A day in Kampong Thom ☀️🏍️
Field coordination, sample transport, data checks, and teamwork. Small moments that keep our research moving forward!

07/15/2026

What does a temperamental centrifuge, hundreds of blood tubes, and late-night TV reruns have in common? 🩸🔬

They were all part of a milestone week for the MAMA Lab team

Last week, we officially began collecting blood samples from a subset of women in the study and reached 200+ women enrolled. This is an exciting milestone made possible by our incredible field teams, health centre staff, and, most importantly, the women participating in the study

Fieldwork is full of surprises. From long days at health centres to carefully labelling blood tubes and processing samples into the evening, every step is part of the journey

Here's to the next 200! 💙

07/09/2026

Collaboration is key to improving maternal health. We're proud to partner with Helen Keller International, the Kampong Thom Provincial Health Department, and Kampong Thom Health Centers on the Early-life Thiamine Supplementation for Infant Neurocognitive Benefits randomized controlled trial. Together, we're working to advance research that has the potential to improve maternal and infant health outcomes across Cambodia

06/03/2026

06/02/2026

Baseline training officially wrapped! 🎉

In preparation for the Early Life Thiamine Study rollout in Kampong Thom, we’ve trained 75 team members, including our amazing data collectors and health centre staff. We’re so grateful for the energy, engagement, and commitment everyone brought to the trainings.

We’re excited for the next phase of the study as we begin enrolling pregnant women 💛

A huge thank you to our dedicated data collectors, collaborating health centre teams, our partners at Helen Keller International, and especially Ngik, Dalin, Sokkhov, and Jelisa for helping lead the trainings. We’re incredibly fortunate to have such skilled, dedicated people on this team.

05/19/2026

Training kicked off today in Kampong Thom for the Early-life thiamine supplementation for infant neurocognitive benefits trial 🇰🇭✨

We feel incredibly lucky to be working with such an amazing team, from data collectors and health centre staff to community partners, whose energy, dedication and collaboration make this study possible. We’re excited to begin enrolling pregnant mothers in the coming weeks 💛

More details coming soon on the MAMALab website — stay tuned!

05/11/2026

The MAMA Lab enjoyed a wonderful weekend of learning and knowledge sharing at the Canadian Nutrition Society Annual Conference here in Halifax! Devora Goldberg presented a poster and nutrigraphic based on her MSc, and Koen Schlief had a poster showcasing his honours research. Major congratulations to Devora for winning the 1st place for her nutrigraphic entitled ‘Are you getting enough iron during pregnancy?’ 🥇Also incredible to see THREE past MAMA Lab students attending the conference (see last photo!) .goldberg1 .schlief

03/27/2026

~ Re-post from .halifax ~
Congratulations to Dr. Kyly Whitfield, Chair and Associate Professor in the Applied Human Nutrition Department at MSVU .ahn , who recently received USD$1.49 million from Weiss Asset Management Foundation to co-lead a three-year research study examining whether thiamine (vitamin B1) supplementation during pregnancy and early childhood better supports infant brain development.

Thiamine is a critical vitamin for brain development; however, thiamine deficiency is common in some low-income settings that have more carbohydrate-heavy diets, including Cambodia. Deficiency can cause lifelong health consequences. This public-health need is what drives Dr. Whitfield to help find a solution through research.

This study is co-led by Dr. Whitfield and Mr. Hou Kroeun at , alongside a team of nutrition and infant development researchers in Australia, France, and the United States.

The team is grateful to Factors Group of Nutritional Companies Inc. who are generously donating the thiamine supplements for the study.

Dr. Whitfield also supports many student researchers. More than a dozen students in Undergraduate and Graduate Applied Human Nutrition programs have trained in the MAMA Lab. Many students – including at least one MSVU master’s student – will have the opportunity to work on this new study, and many students will benefit from the study’s data in the future.

03/26/2026

Congratulations to MSc student Devora Goldberg, who presented her findings at the conference earlier this month! 🎉
We learned that 1 in 6 Nova Scotians took prenatal supplements - mainly gummies - that didn’t contain any iron!🤰goldberg1