Improving the health of infants in Peru
Human Biology graduate Megan Stanley explains how her degree has helped to inspire her research into improving the gut health of infants in Peru.
At Loughborough University we pride ourselves on providing our biosciences students with the skills and knowledge to tackle global health issues. The teaching on our Human Biology degree inspired Megan Stanley to tackle global health issues in South America.
Improving global health
Our biosciences students are able to learn from world-leading academics, undertake a placement and conduct their own research project during their degree. These experiences prepare them to tackle some of the most significant health issues affecting communities around the globe upon graduation.
But it's not only our graduates who are having an impact on global health issues. Bioscience students can also use the experience developed when completing their final year dissertation to progress onto postgraduate study or PhD research.
Researching child feeding practices
After being inspired by a lecture on health and nutrition in a disaster setting while studying abroad as part of her Human Biology BSc (Hons) degree, Megan Stanley decided to pursue further research in the topic after graduating.
Having progressed on to PhD study at Loughborough, Megan is now investigating strategies to improve infant and young children feeding practices in Peru.
Peru is a country that has worked tirelessly to improve health outcomes among infants and young children over the past decade. Whilst a lot of improvement has been observed in nutrition, growth and development outcomes, iron deficiency anaemia remains a persistent issue.
Iron supplementation and fortification is a common method of reducing iron deficiency anaemia, a growing body of evidence has identified that excess iron from supplementation may also have negative consequences.
My research aims to establish the impact of diet and iron supplementation on the gut of infants in Peru. I hope that with the support of future research, my work will help to guide recommendations in diet and iron supplementation in the context of optimising the development of the infant gut health.
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