Dr Jacob Thorstensen is an early-career Assistant Professor in Neuroscience and Physiology in the Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine at Bond University. He is also an honorary research fellow in The School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of Queensland. His work has unveiled several new neuroscientific mechanisms which have future applications for movement disorders.

Dr Gabrielle Briggs is a biomedical scientist dedicated to finding smarter, faster ways to diagnose and treat life threatening complications in critically ill patients. Dr Briggs established a research laboratory embedded within the John Hunter Hospital – one of the busiest major trauma centres in NSW. Dr Briggs works alongside surgeons, intensivists, and pathologists to turn complex clinical problems into practical research solutions. Her work spans two major programs: developing a rapid diagnostic test to detect bacterial infections in blood before sepsis takes hold, and exploring mitochondrial transplantation as a novel therapy to rescue injured tissues after trauma and ischaemia.

Together, SAHMRI and Lifeblood are leading a consortium to revolutionise the way human milk, and novel products made from human milk, are used as nutritional and medical interventions to improve health outcomes in vulnerable infants, but with potential application for a diverse range of medical indications.

Currently, babies who are born early preterm – before 32 weeks – are given donor milk when their own mother’s milk is not available or in short supply. Whether donor milk is beneficial for babies born just a few weeks early is unclear, as very little research has been undertaken with these babies.

The GIFT Trial will soon commence as an investigation between SAHMRI, the University of Adelaide, the Red Cross Lifeblood Milk Bank conducted at five sites across three states in Australia.