Is Lab-Made Human Milk a Moonshot or a Mommy Must-Have? An Interview with BIOMILQ

February 03, 2022

Is Lab-Made Human Milk a Moonshot or a Mommy Must-Have? An Interview with BIOMILQ
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Dr. Leila Strickland and Michelle Egger believe the $100 billion dollar infant formula industry isn’t serving the nutritional needs of newborns.

Dr. Leila Strickland and Michelle Egger believe the $100 billion dollar infant formula industry isn’t serving the nutritional needs of newborns. So they’re taking on a daunting task - to make and eventually produce at scale - lab-made human milk for babies (aka recreating breast milk in a lab). In this interview, the BIOMILQ co-founders share with us the opportunities and challenges in their quest to make a game-changing difference in the lives of mothers (and fathers) around the world.

Leila StricklandProfile Photo

Leila Strickland

Leila has a Ph.D. in cell biology, with over ten years of experience conducting original research on fundamental cellular processes. As a mother-of-two, she is passionate about developing novel applications of cell culture technology to address the world's most pressing problems and protecting future generations and the planet they will inherit. Leila empowers never to be made to feel lesser for the way they feed their children and to ignore the haters who say try harder.

Michelle EggerProfile Photo

Michelle Egger

Co-founder and CEO

As a passionate food scientist, Michelle looks to combat global food security and malnutrition in everything she does. She has expertise in dairy fermentation, formulation, and processing and is thrilled to ditch the cows for humans. Inspired by upstream solutions for infant nutrition at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, she became obsessed with advancing human nutrition through better infant feeding options. Michelle seeks to harness the capacity to drive environmental and social change through creative food solutions with a consumer-first design. Her entrepreneurial expertise in social impact and sustainable business models drives her commitment to seeking mission-aligned partners.