Advancing Breastfeeding Promotion, Protection, and Support for Better Health, Economics, and Planet

Kris Yuet Wan Lok, RD, PhD, FHEA, University of Hong Kong, China

Dr. Kris Yuet Wan Lok is an Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing, The University of Hong Kong. She holds a BSc, MSc, PhD, and is a Registered Dietitian (RD) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Dr. Lok’s research interests include maternal and child health, specifically infant feeding. She has worked in academic institutions and hospitals both in Hong Kong and the UK. She is also an Academy Fellow at the World Cancer Research Fund International, UK.

Her work has been widely cited, and she has contributed to numerous publications in her field.

She is an Associate Editor of the International Breastfeeding Journal.

Rukhsana Haider, MBBS, IBCLC, PhD, Health and Nutrition (TAHN) Foundation, Bangladesh 

Dr. Rukhsana Haider is a highly respected medical and public health nutrition professional with an MBBS, MSc, PhD, IBCLC, and FABM. Her postgraduate education was from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). She is the Founder and Chairperson of the Training and Assistance for Health & Nutrition (TAHN) Foundation in Bangladesh. Dr. Haider has extensive experience in the field of health and nutrition, particularly in maternal and child health.

She has pioneered the development and implementation of  peer counselling programs to improve breastfeeding practices in urban Dhaka and rural Chittagong since 2000 and has guided similar programs in other countries. Dr. Haider was previously Regional Adviser for Nutrition, Health and Development at WHO, South East Asia Regional Office in India. Her later responsibilities were as the Chair of the Civil Society Alliance for Scaling Up Nutrition (CSA for SUN) in Bangladesh and Co-Chair of the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) Steering Committee, Malaysia, for several years.
Dr Haider’s work has significantly contributed to the development of effective interventions for malnutrition in children and the promotion and support of exclusive breastfeeding. Dr. Haider’s dedication to improving health and nutrition in Bangladesh and elsewhere has made her a prominent figure in the field globally

She is an Associate Editor of the International Breastfeeding Journal.

Siddika Songül Yalçin, MD, PhD, Hacettepe University, Turkey

Dr Siddika Songül Yalçin is a Professor of Pediatrics at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Child Health and Disease, Unit of Social Pediatrics, in Ankara, Turkey. She is a social and developmental pediatrician (MD, PhD). She is the director of the doctoral program in Social Pediatrics and the master's degree programs on 'Child Neglect and Abuse Management' and “Vaccine studies”. She is also an advisory member of the National Baby Friendly Hospital Committee.

Dr. Yalçin has contributed to numerous publications in her field, focusing on topics such as breastfeeding, infant feeding, growth, development, vaccination, and environmental health. Some of her recent works include studies on “breastfeeding status and determinants of current breastfeeding of Syrian refugee children in Turkey”, “Breastfeeding status among Working Women in the Last 15 Years”, “prelacteal feeding in the last 15 years”, and “bottle-feeding over the past 30 years”, “associated factors for exclusive breastfeeding in 27 sub-Saharan African countries”, “breastfeeding during pregnancy in Jordan”, and “breastfeeding among smoking mothers in Jordan”, longitudinal follow-up of some mycotoxins in breast milk, and AI-assisted emotion analysis during complementary feeding in infants.

She is also a member of the Editorial Board of the International Breastfeeding Journal and BMC Pediatrics.

Sonia Hernandez-Cordero, PhD, Iberoamerican University, Mexico 

Dr. Sonia Hernandez-Cordero is a distinguished researcher at the Research Institute for Development with Equity, EQUIDE, at Iberoamerican University in Mexico. She holds a PhD in International Nutrition from Cornell University.  Dr. Hernández-Cordero has more than 20 years of experience in research, developing research projects to generate evidence that translates into public health, food, and nutrition policies. Her primary focus is maternal and child nutrition, emphasizing breastfeeding among the general population and vulnerable groups. She has collaborated with national and international multidisciplinary teams using the best evidence-based approaches to develop national policies useful to decision-makers to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding in Mexico. Another area of interest in public health nutrition has been designing and evaluating evidence-based strategies to prevent obesity, particularly in women and children, with a life course approach.

She has an impressive publication record. She has numerous articles and book chapters on dietary intake in Mexican preschool children, the determinants of overweight and obesity in children, and the acceptability of micronutrient supplements among poor Mexican women. Dr. Hernandez-Cordero is also a member of the International Breastfeeding Journal editorial board.

She is an Associate Editor of the International Breastfeeding Journal.

Tuan Thanh Nguyen, MD, PhD, Alive & Thrive, Global Nutrition FHI 360, Vietnam 

Dr. Tuan Nguyen is a dedicated medical epidemiologist with over 25 years of experience in international health, making a positive impact on global communities. He has provided strategic technical leadership in research, monitoring, learning, and evaluation activities in the East Asia Pacific region and beyond. His research focuses on maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, health disparities, nutrition policies, health system strengthening, food systems, climate change, and gender. His main research themes related to this collection are: 1) Assessing obstacles and advocating approaches for improved nutritional health, and 2) Advancing universal access to breastmilk for vulnerable newborns.

With advanced training from renowned institutions, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Nguyen has provided technical support and conducted studies in 20 countries. He has co-authored almost 80 peer-reviewed publications and a number of guidelines and reports. He supported the development of the Mothers’ Milk Tool, Green Feeding Tool, and Human Milk Bank Monitoring System.

Dr. Nguyen is an Associate Editor of the International Breastfeeding Journal and a reviewer for about 30 journals. He is an Adjunct Faculty member at VinUniversity, Vietnam, and a Guest Lecturer at the University of Southern California, USA.