Rate My Professor Mariana Muelbert

Dr. Mariana Muelbert serves as a Research Fellow at the Liggins Institute within the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland. Originally trained as a dietitian in Brazil, she is a registered nutritionist in New Zealand. Muelbert earned her PhD in Perinatal Science with a focus on Nutrition from the University of Auckland in 2021, her Master's degree in Child and Adolescent Health from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul between 2015 and 2017, and her Bachelor's degree in Nutrition Sciences from Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Her research centers on nutrition, metabolism, and growth of preterm infants, particularly examining human milk composition, breastfeeding outcomes, lactation, maternal nutrition, and early life sensory exposure. This work addresses critical gaps in preterm infant feeding practices and the benefits of breast milk for neonatal health.

Muelbert's career includes significant contributions to perinatal and neonatal nutrition research. She has published key papers such as 'Factors associated with the maintenance of breastfeeding for very preterm infants' in BMC Public Health (2018), 'Olfactory Cues in Infant Feeds: Volatile Profiles of Different Milks Fed to Preterm Infants' in Frontiers in Nutrition (2021), 'Cortical Oxygenation Changes during Gastric Tube Feeding in Moderate- and Late-Preterm Babies: A NIRS Study' in Nutrients (2021), 'Glucocorticoids in preterm human milk' in Frontiers in Nutrition (2022), and 'Formal and informal human milk donation in New Zealand' (2024). Her publications have accumulated over 448 citations, reflecting her influence in the field. She has secured major awards including the Maurice Paykel Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biomedical Science and support from the Health Research Council of New Zealand. Muelbert advocates for establishing a national network of breast milk banks in New Zealand to improve access to donor milk, reduce infections, and lower healthcare costs. She has presented public lectures, such as on donor milk facilities, and participates in postgraduate teaching and supervision in nutrition and metabolism at the Liggins Institute.