Nutritionist connects research from Galapagos to Helene relief
Heather Wasser focuses her work on safe infant feeding, a concern after the storm hit western North Carolina.
From a young age, Heather Wasser combined passions for ensuring the welfare of children and promoting health through good nutrition.
“Initially I wanted to be a chef,” Wasser said. “And I’m the second oldest of six kids, so there was always a baby in my house growing up, and I was often in charge of taking care of them.”
Now an assistant professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, the nutritionist turns those passions into research. Her recent work in collaboration with the UNC Center for Galapagos Studies is making an impact much closer to home.
When she went to western North Carolina in October to provide relief to Hurricane Helene victims and promote safe infant feeding, she found a situation similar to what she had seen in the Galapagos. Families in both places had easy access to powdered infant formula but lacked the clean water to prepare it safely. That presented new issues to examine.
“While most mothers in both areas breastfeed, there’s still a good amount who also use formula,” said Wasser, who’s been at Carolina for 22 years. “I’ve promoted breastfeeding for nearly 30 years, since I first learned its amazing benefits as an undergraduate student. But it wasn’t until the Galapagos that I appreciated its power in protecting the lives of babies when clean water or power are scarce — a situation many families in western N.C. are facing.”
Visit UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hurricane Helene page to learn how the University is responding to the storm.
In the Galapagos Islands, Wasser and her doctoral student, Ivonne Headley, promote exclusive breastfeeding (feeding a baby only breast milk for the first six months of life, with no other liquids or solids). They plan to return to the Galapagos in February to move their community-based project forward. In western North Carolina, Wasser continues to work with a strong community coalition to promote breastfeeding and distribute information on safe infant feeding.
Many of the researchers with the Center for Galapagos Studies also focus on the effects of climate change in the region, something that surprisingly impacts Wasser’s research as well.
“Improving nutrition can absolutely be a part of helping with climate change, especially since manufactured infant formula and ultra-processed food packaging makes up so much of our pollution,” Wasser said. “If our work helps decrease the amount of these products being shipped in, I believe we could see a positive change in childhood health as well as the health of the Galapagos more broadly.”
Wasser has spent this most recent portion of her career making the argument that supporting global health can start at a personal, nutritional level. And thanks to the support of Carolina, Wasser will continue using her research to make sure that communities know that when the youngest members of society are cared for, it benefits them all.
