College of Health and Human Sciences
CHHS Researcher Building Better Infant Feeding Support for Parents with Developmental Disabilities
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation award supports UofM research aimed at understanding parents' experiences and creating more responsive nutrition and health services
Tuesday, 08 September 2026 - Dr. Stacy Vegas Lu has received a two-year, $260,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant to study infant feeding support for parents with disabilities.
Feeding a baby raises questions for nearly every new parent — but for parents with developmental disabilities, health care and nutrition services don't always reflect their experiences or meet their needs.
Dr. Stacy Vegas Lu, assistant professor in the College of Health and Human Sciences, has received a two-year, $260,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to change that. Through the foundation's competitive Health Equity Scholars for Action program, Lu and her team will survey and interview parents with developmental disabilities about their infant feeding experiences, along with the medical, lactation and nutrition professionals who support them.
The goal is practical: identify where services are working, where gaps remain, and how providers can better tailor care so families get the support they need.