Kozeta Miliku

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At a Glance

• Professor Miliku's lab will study the impact of nutrition through a life course perspective. The main two focuses will be preconception nutrition with a specific focus on the paternal diet; and nutrition during puberty and adolescence, a critical window of development.

About Professor Kozeta Miliku

Professor Kozeta Miliku obtained her Medical Doctorate in 2013 at the Medical University of Tirana in Albania. She received her doctoral degree in Clinical Epidemiology in May 2017 at the Erasmus University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Her PhD thesis entitled: “Early life nutrition, growth and kidney function in children” studied the role of genetics, maternal health and nutritional factors on fetal growth and childhood kidney function in children. Dr. Miliku’s postdoctoral research at the University of Manitoba (2017-2020) and McMaster (2020-2022) focused on understanding the role of nutrition and genetics in the developmental origins of chronic disease, including cardiometabolic health, asthma and allergies among Canadian children. At the University of Toronto, Dr. Miliku’s lab will continue to study the impact of nutrition through a life course perspective. The main two focuses will be preconception nutrition with a specific focus on the paternal diet; and nutrition during puberty and adolescence, a critical window of development. Dr. Miliku is also the Clinical Science Officer of the CHILD Cohort Study, one of the largest Canadian birth cohorts. She is the ECR chair of the “Training & Networking” committee of the DOHaD 2022 World Congress.

Recent Awards and Distinctions (Selected)

Michelle Harkness Mentorship Award (2020)

Canadian Lung Association Fellowship (2018-2020)

National and International Committee Memberships (Current)

ECR Co-Chair, Trainee & Networking Committee, 2022 World Conference of Developmental Origins of Health & Disease

Program and Executive Committee Member, 2022 World Conference of Developmental Origins of Health & Disease

Workshop Committee Member, International DOHaD Society

Recent Publications

1. Winkler TW, Rasheed H, Teumer A, Gorski M, Rowan BX, Stanzick KJ, Thomas LF, Tin A, Hoppmann A, Chu AY, Tayo B, Thio CHL, Cusi D, Chai JF, Sieber KB, Horn K, Li M, Scholz M, Cocca M, Wuttke M, van der Most PJ, Yang Q, Ghasemi S, Nutile T, Li Y, Pontali G, Günther F, Dehghan A, Correa A, Parsa A, Feresin A, de Vries APJ, Zonderman AB, Smith AV, Oldehinkel AJ, De Grandi A, Rosenkranz AR, Franke A, Teren A, Metspalu A, Hicks AA, Morris AP, Tönjes A, Morgan A, Podgornaia AI, Peters A, Körner A, Mahajan A, Campbell A, Freedman BI, Spedicati B, Ponte B, Schöttker B, Brumpton B, Banas B, Krämer BK, Jung B, Åsvold BO, Smith BH, Ning B, Penninx BWJH, Vanderwerff BR, Psaty BM, Kammerer CM, Langefeld CD, Hayward C, Spracklen CN, Robinson-Cohen C, Hartman CA, Lindgren CM, Wang C, Sabanayagam C, Heng CK, Lanzani C, Khor CC, Cheng CY, Fuchsberger C, Gieger C, Shaffer CM, Schulz CA, Willer CJ, Chasman DI, Gudbjartsson DF, Ruggiero D, Toniolo D, Czamara D, Porteous DJ, Waterworth DM, Mascalzoni D, Mook-Kanamori DO, Reilly DF, Daw EW, Hofer E, Boerwinkle E, Salvi E, Bottinger EP, Tai ES, Catamo E, Rizzi F, Guo F, Rivadeneira F, Guilianini F, Sveinbjornsson G, Ehret G, Waeber G, Biino G, Girotto G, Pistis G, Nadkarni GN, Delgado GE, Montgomery GW, Snieder H, Campbell H, White HD, Gao H, Stringham HM, Schmidt H, Li H, Brenner H, Holm H, Kirsten H, Kramer H, Rudan I, Nolte IM, Tzoulaki I, Olafsson I, Martins J, Cook JP, Wilson JF, Halbritter J, Felix JF, Divers J, Kooner JS, Lee JJ, O'Connell J, Rotter JI, Liu J, Xu J, Thiery J, Ärnlöv J, Kuusisto J, Jakobsdottir J, Tremblay J, Chambers JC, Whitfield JB, Gaziano JM, Marten J, Coresh J, Jonas JB, Mychaleckyj JC, Christensen K, Eckardt KU, Mohlke KL, Endlich K, Dittrich K, Ryan KA, Rice KM, Taylor KD, Ho K, Nikus K, Matsuda K, Strauch K, Miliku K, Hveem K, Lind L, Wallentin L, Yerges-Armstrong LM, Raffield LM, Phillips LS, Launer LJ, Lyytikäinen LP, Lange LA, Citterio L, Klaric L, Ikram MA, Ising M, Kleber ME, Francescatto M, Concas MP, Ciullo M, Piratsu M, Orho-Melander M, Laakso M, Loeffler M, Perola M, de Borst MH, Gögele M, Bianca M, Lukas MA, Feitosa MF, Biggs ML, Wojczynski MK, Kavousi M, Kanai M, Akiyama M, Yasuda M, Nauck M, Waldenberger M, Chee ML, Chee ML, Boehnke M, Preuss MH, Stumvoll M, Province MA, Evans MK, O'Donoghue ML, Kubo M, Kähönen M, Kastarinen M, Nalls MA, Kuokkanen M, Ghanbari M, Bochud M, Josyula NS, Martin NG, Tan NYQ, Palmer ND, Pirastu N, Schupf N, Verweij N, Hutri-Kähönen N, Mononen N, Bansal N, Devuyst O, Melander O, Raitakari OT, Polasek O, Manunta P, Gasparini P, Mishra PP, Sulem P, Magnusson PKE, Elliott P, Ridker PM, Hamet P, Svensson PO, Joshi PK, Kovacs P, Pramstaller PP, Rossing P, Vollenweider P, van der Harst P, Dorajoo R, Sim RZH, Burkhardt R, Tao R, Noordam R, Mägi R, Schmidt R, de Mutsert R, Rueedi R, van Dam RM, Carroll RJ, Gansevoort RT, Loos RJF, Felicita SC, Sedaghat S, Padmanabhan S, Freitag-Wolf S, Pendergrass SA, Graham SE, Gordon SD, Hwang SJ, Kerr SM, Vaccargiu S, Patil SB, Hallan S, Bakker SJL, Lim SC, Lucae S, Vogelezang S, Bergmann S, Corre T, Ahluwalia TS, Lehtimäki T, Boutin TS, Meitinger T, Wong TY, Bergler T, Rabelink TJ, Esko T, Haller T, Thorsteinsdottir U, Völker U, Foo VHX, Salomaa V, Vitart V, Giedraitis V, Gudnason V, Jaddoe VWV, Huang W, Zhang W, Wei WB, Kiess W, März W, Koenig W, Lieb W, Gao X, Sim X, Wang YX, Friedlander Y, Tham YC, Kamatani Y, Okada Y, Milaneschi Y, Yu Z; Lifelines cohort study; DiscovEHR/MyCode study; VA Million Veteran Program, Stark KJ, Stefansson K, Böger CA, Hung AM, Kronenberg F, Köttgen A, Pattaro C, Heid IM. Differential and shared genetic effects on kidney function between diabetic and non-diabetic individuals. Commun Biol. 2022 Jun 13;5(1):580. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-03448-z. PMID: 35697829; PMCID: PMC9192715.
2. Reyna ME, Petersen C, Dai DLY, Dai R, Becker AB, Azad MB, Miliku K, Lefebvre DL, Moraes TJ, Mandhane PJ, Boutin RCT, Finlay BB, Simons E, Kozyrskyj AL, Lou W, Turvey SE, Subbarao P. Longitudinal body mass index trajectories at preschool age: children with rapid growth have differential composition of the gut microbiota in the first year of life. Int J Obes (Lond). 2022 Apr 15. doi: 10.1038/s41366-022-01117-z. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35428865.
3. Bansal A, Abruzzese GA, Hewawasam E, Hasebe K, Hamada H, Hoodbhoy Z, Diounou H, Ibáñez CA, Miranda RA, Golden TN, Miliku K, Isasi CR. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on research and careers of early career researchers: a DOHaD perspective. J Dev Orig Health Dis. 2022 Mar 4:1-6. doi: 10.1017/S2040174422000071. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35241213.
4. Dai R, Miliku K, Gaddipati S, Choi J, Ambalavanan A, Tran MM, Reyna M, Sbihi H, Lou W, Parvulescu P, Lefebvre DL, Becker AB, Azad MB, Mandhane PJ, Turvey SE, Duan Q, Moraes TJ, Sears MR, Subbarao P. Wheeze trajectories: Determinants and outcomes in the CHILD Cohort Study. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2021 Dec 30:S0091-6749(21)02747-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2021.10.039. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34974064.
5. Miliku K, Moraes TJ, Becker AB, Mandhane PJ, Sears MR, Turvey SE, Subbarao P, Azad MB. Breastfeeding in the First Days of Life Is Associated With Lower Blood Pressure at 3 Years of Age. J Am Heart Assoc. 2021 Aug 3;10(15):e019067. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.120.019067. Epub 2021 Jul 21. PMID: 34284597; PMCID: PMC8475685.
6. Miliku K, Richelle J, Becker AB, Simons E, Moraes TJ, Stuart TE, Mandhane PJ, Sears MR, Subbarao P, Field CJ, Azad MB. Sex-specific associations of human milk long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and infant allergic conditions. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2021 Aug;32(6):1173-1182. doi: 10.1111/pai.13500. Epub 2021 Mar 31. PMID: 33711184.
7. Reyes SM, Miliku K, Chan D, Brockway M, Turner S, Kearns KA, Raimondi C, Saleem A, Kelly LE, Nickel NC, Azad MB. Messaging and methodological considerations when researching breastfeeding and obesity. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2021 Oct;75(10):1523-1525. doi: 10.1038/s41430-021-00867-9. Epub 2021 Jan 29. PMID: 33514868.
8. Muthumuni D, Miliku K, Wade KH, Timpson NJ, Azad MB. Enhanced Protection Against Diarrhea Among Breastfed Infants of Nonsecretor Mothers. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2021 Mar 1;40(3):260-263. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003014. PMID: 33315747.
9. Vermeulen MJ, Gaillard R, Miliku K, Reiss I, Steegers EAP, Jaddoe V, Felix J. Influence of genetic variants for birth weight on fetal growth and placental haemodynamics. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2020 Jul;105(4):393-398. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2019-317044. Epub 2019 Oct 30. PMID: 31666310.
10. Miliku K, Duan QL, Moraes TJ, Becker AB, Mandhane PJ, Turvey SE, Lefebvre DL, Sears MR, Subbarao P, Field CJ, Azad MB. Human milk fatty acid composition is associated with dietary, genetic, sociodemographic, and environmental factors in the CHILD Cohort Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019 Dec 1;110(6):1370-1383. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz229. PMID: 31589250; PMCID: PMC6885479.

In the News

Breastfeeding for any amount of time linked to lower blood pressure in toddlers, study finds. CNN. July 21, 2021.

Early breastfeeding, even for a few days, could lower blood pressure in toddler years. Heart.org. July 21, 2021.

The impact of breast milk sugars on child asthma. 93.7 CJNU Nostalgia Radio.

Finding the Link Between Breastfeeding and Asthma. MD Magazine. December 18, 2018. 

Current Lab Members

Zhang Hao Chen - MSc student

Antonio Rossi - MSc student