Prof Bo Lönnerdal

Prof Bo Lönnerdal leads a world-renowned research program in pediatric nutrition at the University of California, Davis. His research focuses on bioactive components in breast milk and the effect of breast milk on the infant, especially the mechanisms underlying the protection breast milk offers against infection. He also researches the micronutrients iron and zinc, and how they are secreted into milk and utilized by the infant. He collaborates on numerous projects with researchers in Peru, China, and Sweden, and mentors undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and visiting scientists from all over the world.

Prof Lönnerdal has served on several expert panels for WHO, and is on the editorial board of several scientific journals, himself a prolific author with more than 500 books and articles to his credit. He is also a member of the American Society of Nutrition (ASN), the European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) and the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML).

His myriad honors and awards include the Macy-Györgi Award for Research on Human Milk and Lactation, ISRHML and the Gabriel Bertrand Prize and Medal for Research on Trace Element Metabolism, FESTEM. He received his master’s and doctorate degrees in biochemistry from the University of Uppsala in Sweden, and has been professor at UCD since 1980.