Projects by researchers from the Medical University of Warsaw
Doctor Magdalena Babiszewska-Aksamit has obtained funding for her project titled “Composition of milk from mothers with diagnosed gestational diabetes”. As written in the project application, breast milk provides the baby with all the substances important for proper development, and studies show that breastfeeding may be associated with a reduced risk of, for example, obesity or type 2 diabetes in children later in life. However, mothers diagnosed with gestational diabetes in Poland are at serious risk of not being able to breastfeed, which may have very adverse effects on the health of their children. Gestational diabetes is hyperglycemia first diagnosed during pregnancy, resulting from impaired carbohydrate tolerance. Very little research has been conducted on the composition of breast milk from women with gestational diabetes and its impact on infant development. The researcher’s goal is to determine the energy value, content of macronutrients, SCFA, omega-3 and omega-6 in the milk of mothers with diagnosed gestational diabetes. In addition, the concentrations of hormones associated with the occurrence of gestational diabetes, such as insulin, ghrelin, adiponectin, leptin and insulin-like growth factor 1 will be determined in milk.
Doctor Sylwia Michorowska has obtained funding for her project titled “Saliva proteome in Prader-Willi Syndrome”. As written in the project application, infants suffering from Prader-Willi Syndrome show delayed development, hypotonia and lack of appetite. In the later stages of life, the sense of satiety is disturbed and other symptoms occur, such as intellectual disability, thermoregulation disorders and an increased pain threshold. Patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome exhibit a number of oral symptoms, including hypoplastic enamel, tooth decay and periodontal diseases. This may be related to the saliva of these patients, which is thick, sticky, foamy and more acidic, which exposes them to various oral diseases. The researcher will use an advanced technology to compare the proteome of stimulated saliva from patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome and healthy people.
The funding obtained under the “MINIATURA” competition allows for the implementation of a small research project that may become a starting point for proposing guidelines for a full-scale research project, the financing of which can then be applied for under the National Science Center’s competitions or other national or international programs. In the sixth and last edition of the competition, funding was granted to 339 applications out of 818 submitted, with a total value of PLN 13,707,056.