Expert Spotlight: Mandy YL Ow, PhD, BPharm

A conversation with Abbott Senior Clinical Scientist Mandy YL Ow:

Q: Tell us about yourself.

I’m a Senior Clinical Scientist at Abbott Nutrition in the Research & Development division, specializing in designing and leading clinical research that translates into evidence-based nutrition care, with a focus on oral nutritional supplementation for diverse populations—including children with undernutrition, adults with malnutrition, and individuals with diabetes. 

Q: Lately, you've been focusing your research on oral nutritional supplementation and catch-up growth in children at risk for undernutrition. Can you tell us about some of your key findings? 

Here are the three things that stand out most for me:

• Quality catch-up growth is achievable with nutritional support. ONS combined with dietary counseling drives true catch-up growth in children with or at risk of undernutrition. SPROUT demonstrated significant improvements in height-for-age and reduced height deficits, helping children close the growth gap. Importantly, this growth was high-quality—lean mass and bone mineralization, not just weight gain.
• Healthy, proportionate growth Is supported with the right nutrients. Concerns about ONS or supplementary nutrition causing unhealthy weight and fat gain are common, and SPROUT is the first trial to show beneficial lean tissue and bone gains without excess fat gain This pivotal finding underscores that the right nutrient balance supports healthy, proportional development rather than unhealthy weight gain.
• Nutrition delivers benefits beyond growth. Correcting undernutrition improves more than growth. In SPROUT, children receiving ONS + counseling had better appetite, energy, and physical activity; improved sleep quality; and fewer sick days and missed school days—highlighting nutrition’s broader impact on health and daily functioning.

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

There are a few related educational resources I'd like to point you to on ANHI.org:

• Here's an accredited course offering 1.0 Nurse Contact CEs and 1.0 Dietitian CPEUs: "Beyond Weight: Nutritional Insights and New Evidence for Catch-Up Growth."
• Here's a summary of an article my colleagues and I published in Nutrition Journal in 2025: "Efficacy of Long-Term Oral Nutritional Supplementation with Dietary Counseling on Growth, Body Composition and Bone Mineralization in Children with or At Risk for Undernutrition: A Randomized Controlled Trial."
• And, here's a video to support our ONS Trial.