Brief Biography

Dr. Deborah O'Connor joined The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in July 2000 and is currently the Director of Clinical Dietetics, which includes the Breastfeeding Support Program. She is also a Senior Associate Scientist in the Physiology & Experimental Medicine program in the SickKids Research Institute and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Toronto.

O’Connor completed her undergraduate training at the University of Guelph and her M.Sc. and PhD in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois. She completed her clinical dietetic training at Kingston General Hospital. Prior to arriving at SickKids, Debbie was an Associate Professor in the Division of Applied Human Nutrition at the University of Guelph, Ohio State University and was the senior group leader of the Premature Infant Nutrition group at Abbott Laboratories in Columbus, Ohio. She is a member of Dietitians of Canada, the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation, the Canadian Society of Nutritional Sciences and the American Society of Nutritional Sciences. She is currently serving on the Expert Advisory Group for revision of the National Nutrition Pregnancy Guidelines.

Clinical Care Activities

The Department of Clinical Dietetics is composed of approximately 40 clinical dietitians and four breastfeeding support nurses. Each dietitian works within their respective program to assess the nutritional status and needs of paediatric patients at risk of sub-optimal nutrition. They develop, implement, monitor and adjust nutritional care plans based on this assessment and each child's on-going medical condition. Given the acuity of patients in their care and the resultant impact on nutritional status and growth, a significant proportion of the children followed are receiving nutrition via total parenteral nutrition or enteral tube. Breastfeeding support nurses work with families and teams to support the use of human milk feeding during the infant's first year of life. They assess milk supply and delivery, make adjustments and educate as appropriate for each family's unique situation and child's medical condition. Both dietitians and nurses in the department are committed to the education of staff, dietetic interns and students.

Research Interests

• Folate assessment and metabolism
• Biosynthesis and absorption of folate by microorganisms in the colon
• Impact of early nutrition and growth in the premature infant on longer-term development
• Human milk fortification
• Modification of human milk for the feeding of infants with chylothorax
• Nutritional support of the sick and premature after hospital discharge.

Research Activities

Our research program is focused on two broad areas of maternal and infant nutrition. First, we are interested in understanding the factors that affect the folate status of women, infants and young children. In particular we are investigating the role that bacterial biosynthesis of folate in the colon plays on the folate status of humans. We are in the midst of assessing whether the bacterial milieu can be manipulated by dietary means to improve the nutrition and health of humans. Second, we are studying the impact of feeding nutrient-enriched human milk early after hospital discharge on the growth, body composition and development (mental and motor) of very low birthweight infants during the first 18 months of life.

External Funding

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• SickKids Foundation
• Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research

Publications

Lenati RF, O’Connor DL, Hebert KC, Farber JM, Pagotto FJ: Growth and survival of Enterobacter sakazakii in human breast milk with and without fortifiers as compared to powdered infant formula. International Journal of Food Microbiology doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2007.11.084, 2008.

O’Connor DL, Khan S, Weishuhn K, Vaughan J, Jefferies A, Campbell DM, Asztalos E, Feldman M, Rovet J, Westall C, Whyte H. Growth and nutrient intakes of human milk-fed premature infants provided with extra energy and nutrients after hospital discharge: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics 121(4):766-776, 2008.

Nash A, Secker D, Corey M, Dunn M, O’Connor DL: Field testing of the 2006 WHO growth charts from birth to 2 years: assessment of hospital under-and over-nutrition rates and the usefulness of BMI. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition 32:145-153, 2008.

Nguyen P, Nava-Ocampo A, Levy A, O'Connor DL, Einarson TR, Koren G: Effect of iron content on the tolerability of prenatal multivitamins in pregnancy? BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 8(1):17 doi:10.1186/1471-2393-8-17, 2008., 2008.

O’Connor DL, Brennan J, Dello S, Streitenberger L: Use of Nonsterile nutritionals for neonates in-hospital and after hospital discharge: control measures currently instituted at one tertiary care institution. In: Enterobacter Sakazakii edited by Farber JM, Forsythe SJ. ASM Press, Washington, DC, pg. 187-220, 2008.

Houghton LA, O’Connor DL: Nutrition during pregnancy and lactation. In: Optimizing Women’s Health through Nutrition, edited by Thompson LU, Ward W. CRC Press: Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, pg 65-92, 2008.

O'Connor DL, Houghton LA, Sherwood KL: Nutrition issues during lactation. Handbook of Nutrition and Pregnancy, edited by Lammi-Keefe CJ. The Human Press Inc, Totowa, NJ, pg 257-282, 2008.

Lindzon G, O’Connor DL: Folate during Reproduction: the Canadian experience with folic acid fortification. Nutrition Research and Practice 1(3):163-174, 2007.

Houghton LA, Sherwood KL, O’Connor DL: How well do blood folate concentrations predict dietary folate intakes of lactating women post-folic acid fortification of the food supply? BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 7:25 doi:10.1186/1471-2393-7-25, 2007.