Laurie Nommsen-Rivers

Laurie Nommsen-Rivers, PhD, RD, IBCLC, is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of California, Davis. She serves as the director of the Maternal and Child Nutrition Master of Advanced Study program and the UC Davis Human Lactation Center. Her research focuses on optimizing clinical management of lactating parent-infant dyads, with an emphasis on physiologic factors influencing milk production and maternal metabolic health. Key areas include maternal BMI impacts, milk composition, and breastfeeding outcomes in diverse populations. She leads initiatives addressing breastfeeding disparities, particularly among women with obesity and in urban birth cohorts.

Her work integrates translational frameworks, emphasizing community engagement and equity. Recent studies explore how maternal diet, inflammation, and obesity affect milk production and infant health. She has contributed to methodological advancements in measuring milk production and analyzing extracellular vesicles in human milk. Her findings highlight the role of maternal metabolic health in lactation success and inform clinical guidelines for breastfeeding support.

• Key Affiliations: Department of Nutrition, UC Davis Human Lactation Center
• Labs/Teams: UC Davis Human Lactation Center, BEGIN translational framework collaboration

Research trends in her articles emphasize maternal BMI’s effects on milk composition, inflammation’s role in lactation, and disparities in breastfeeding outcomes. Her work bridges basic science and public health, with implications for reducing health inequities through evidence-based lactation support.

Advising/Grants: While specific grant details are not listed, her research program indicates sustained funding for large-scale cohort studies and methodological innovations in lactation science.