Project description
Tracking chemical transfer during breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is vital for infant nutrition, immunity and development, but it can also transfer medicines and environmental chemicals from mother to child. This creates uncertainty for families, clinicians and regulators about which exposures are safe during early life. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MATREEX project will study how pharmaceuticals and pollutants pass into breast milk and reach infants. Researchers will analyse human milk alongside neonatal dried blood spots, creating the first long-term paired datasets of maternal and infant exposure. Using advanced chemical analysis, machine learning and health risk modelling, researchers aim to improve medicine guidance, public health policy and child health protection.
Objective
The MATREEX project will investigate how pharmaceuticals and environmental contaminants are transferred from mothers to infants during breastfeeding, and how these exposures may affect health in early life. While breastfeeding is vital for infant development, it can also serve as a pathway for exposure to both medicines and environmental contaminants, creating uncertainty for mothers, clinicians, and regulators. To address this, MATREEX introduces an innovative dual-matrix approach, analysing human milk together with neonatal dried blood spots collected through minimally invasive sampling. This will generate the first longitudinal paired datasets that directly link maternal intake to infant exposure. The research will focus on high-priority medicines, including antimalarials and cystic fibrosis therapies, while also applying broad screening methods to identify environmental contaminants such as plasticisers and PFAS.
The work is structured around four objectives: (i) developing advanced laboratory workflows for quantitative analysis, (ii) applying wide screening for pharmaceuticals and environmental contaminants, (iii) using machine learning to prioritise chemicals and assess combined effects, and (iv) building physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models to evaluate health risks, supported by a placement at the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
By combining analytical chemistry, computational modelling with PBPK, and regulatory relevance, MATREEX will generate new evidence on maternal-to-infant chemical transfer. The results will help guide safer use of medicines during breastfeeding, inform public health policy, and provide new tools for exposure science. The project directly contributes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme objectives of advancing environmental health research, reducing health inequalities, and strengthening Europe’s capacity in women’s and children’s health.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
WC2R 2LS London
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.