Expert Spotlight: Beth Reverri, PhD, MS, RD

A conversation with Abbott Senior Research Scientist Beth Reverri:

Q: Tell us about yourself.

I started my nutrition career as a Registered Dietitian and went back to school for a PhD in Nutrition to learn more about the clinical research that informs nutrition guidelines. Today, I enjoy working on clinical nutrition studies and have been presenting internationally and medical writing. 

Q: What are you working on lately?

My current areas of research include infant nutrition, toddler nutrition, and human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). HMOs make up the third most abundant solid component in breastmilk and recent technology has made it possible to detect more individual HMOs in breastmilk and to add them to infant formula. 

I scientifically lead the largest (enrolled 607 healthy, term infants) and longest (out to 24 months of age) clinical study on an infant formula with 5 specific HMOs (2′-FL, 3-FL, LNT, 3′-SL, and 6′-SL) in the United States.  

So far there have been benefits in the areas of growth, gastrointestinal tolerance, parent-reported immune health, gut microbiome, and cognitive development – and the clinical study is ongoing, so more is to come. 

Q: Where can we find more information about your study?

ANHI has a quick video overview – Randomized Clinical Trial in Infants Fed a Formula Supplemented with 5 HMOs  – of the study. Simply click "Watch Video" below.