2017-2020 SMFM/AAOGF Scholar

Adetola Louis-Jacques, MD has been selected for the SMFM/AAOGF Scholarship Award for her work entitled “Lactation and Association with Maternal Gut Microbiome and Epigenetic Programming.” Dr. Louis-Jacques is currently a third-year fellow in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of South Florida. She completed her medical training at the University of Vermont and her residency training at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) in Allentown, PA. Her mentors for this project include Maureen Groer, PhD, RN, FAAN, Gordon Keller Professor of Nursing and Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine and Charles Lockwood, MD, MHCM, Dean of the College of Medicine and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Florida.

Dr. Louis-Jacques’s primary goal is to develop a translational research program dedicated to studies that will improve our mechanistic knowledge of the maternal benefits of lactation. Her research will test the hypothesis that the maternal lactational status at six months postpartum will lead to significant differences in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) DNA methylation patterns and the gut microbiome composition after adjusting for multiple covariates. She has received several research, leadership and teaching awards and has been first author on peer reviewed publications. The Foundation for SMFM and AAOGF would like to congratulate Dr. Louis-Jacques and look forward to supporting and guiding her to further her training in the conduct of her research.

Learn more about the SMFM/AAOGF Scholarship here.