Greetings All,

Laura L Hernandez is an associate professor in lactation biology and affiliate professor in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.  Dr. Hernandez was mentioned on Lactnet earlier this week in regard to sharing citations and abstracts of several papers she has co-authored, with emphasis on serotonin.  I became curious about her work and have enjoyed reading her faculty bio, which includes mention of her 6-month sabbatical spent with Dr. Anne Eglash and "the wonderful lactation consultants at AFCH NICU, and at Meriter Hospital."  Am sharing her very interesting faculty bio here, with links to her faculty website.  

https://laurahernandezlab.dysci.wisc.edu/

https://laurahernandezlab.dysci.wisc.edu/research-interests/l-l-hernandez/
 
"My background begins as an animal scientist.  I have always had a fascination with mammals.  I hail from a large city (El Paso, TX) and started off thinking that veterinary school was the only option for someone who had a passion for animals.  As an undergraduate I was introduced to the possibility of working in a laboratory setting to understand how animals work from a physiological and cellular standpoint.

"I completed a master’s degree at New Mexico State University and worked on a project in which I investigated the role of toxic weeds and how they affect reproduction and liver metabolism in sheep.  I then went on to a Ph.D. program in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Arizona, where I worked with Dr. Robert Collier, whose area of research is focused on mammary gland and environmental physiology.  It is there that I became fascinated with how the mammary gland functions and is regulated at a nutritional, endocrinological and molecular level.  My dissertation focused on characterizing the serotonergic system in the bovine model using a combination of in vivo and in vitro techniques.

"I then went on to become a Post-Doctoral Fellow on the Developmental Biology Training Grant at the University of Cincinnati in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology under the guidance of Dr. Nelson Horseman in June 2008.  Dr. Horseman was the first to discover that the mammary gland synthesizes serotonin.  My projects as a post-doctoral fellow were vast, and I worked on the role of serotonin on tight junction function in the mammary gland, the role of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors on lactogenesis, the effects of serotonin on breast cancer, and the role of serotonin in regulating parathyroid hormone related-protein production in the mammary gland.  As a result of these experiments, we have secured a patent and have another one pending.

"My experience as a post-doctoral fellow provided the framework for my current research program which focuses on serotonin and how it affects maternal metabolism at the onset of lactation.  Furthermore, the mentorship I received during my Ph.D. from Dr. Collier and my post-doctoral fellowship from Dr. Horseman have provided me with the training necessary to transition into a faculty role at the University of Wisconsin.

"Currently we are working on various projects with the central theme being the involvement of serotonin on the regulation of milk synthesis and how that coordinates maternal metabolism.  We use both mouse and cow models, as well as various in vitro techniques.  Our primary interest is how serotonin affects maternal metabolism during lactation, particularly calcium and glucose homeostasis.  We are currently specifically focused on the effects of SSRI use during pregnancy and lactation on long-term maternal bone health for which we recently obtained an R01 grant to focus on this research.  Additionally, our USDA funded research has been focused on understanding how serotonin controls hypocalcemia in dairy cows."

Would very much like to hear Dr. Hernandez speak at conferences in our field - - 

With kind regards,

Debbie

Debra Swank, RN BSN IBCLC
Program Director
MoreThanReflexes Education
Elkins, West Virginia USA
http://www.MoreThanReflexes.org

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