Three projects proposed by Washington State University researchers were awarded $50,000 each in this spring’s Cougar Cage event.
Over the course of a day in Seattle, six faculty research projects were evaluated by the Palouse Club — a group of WSU alumni dedicated to supporting the university — in the culmination of the third semi-annual Cougar Cage event. The six projects were hand-selected by WSU leadership from a pool of 26 submissions representing WSU students, faculty, and staff from across the system.
The selected projects include “Study of cannabis, human milk composition, and infant development,” led by Courtney Meehan, CAS associate dean for research and graduate studies and professor of anthropology.
To address the historical lack of research on pregnant and breastfeeding women, Meehan seeks to populate the information desert surrounding these vulnerable individuals and their children. Her proposed study will assess whether milk composition differs among women who use and do not use cannabis, and how the presence of cannabinoids in milk affects infant development. Meehan hopes the results will enable healthcare providers to offer evidence-based advice and allow mothers to make more informed decisions.