Laboratory for Research in Human Milk and Lactation

Medical University of Warsaw

Laboratory for Research in Human Milk and Lactation

Medical University of Warsaw

mgr Aleksandra Mołas

E-mail: aleksandra.molas@wum.edu.pl

Orcid: 0000-0002-2680-9946

Education

She graduated as a midwife and biologist from the Medical University of Warsaw and the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. During her studies, she developed an interest in lactation physiology, the composition of human milk, and the nutrition of newborns and young children. She is now preparing her doctoral dissertation entitled: “Challenges Related to Proper Nutrition of Newborns and Young Children in Severe Clinical Conditions and Crisis Situations.”

Employment

Since 2020, she has worked at the Human Milk and Lactation Research Laboratory in the Department of Medical Biology at the Medical University of Warsaw. She participates in national and international scientific projects related to lactation, human milk composition, and maternal and infant health. Between 2022 and 2024, she also served as a midwife at the Regional Human Milk Bank at the Holy Family Specialist Hospital in Warsaw.

Research interests

Lactation physiology, composition and biological properties of human milk, nutrition of newborns and infants, operation of human milk banks, and lactation counselling. She pays particular attention to research on immune factors present in human milk, the impact of viral infections on milk composition, and the role of human milk in building immunity and child health.

Scholarships, Awards, Professional Memberships, and Academic Activities

She regularly presents her research findings at national and international scientific conferences. She has actively participated in events organised by the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, the European Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, the European Milk Bank Association, the Centre for Lactation Science, as well as conferences focused on and devoted to public health, nutrition, and lactation.

She continuously develops her competencies through participation in specialised training courses and research internships. Among others, she completed laboratory internships at the University of Ireland, Maynooth, and at the Department of Chemistry and Immunochemistry of Wroclaw Medical University, focusing on the immunology and microbiology of human milk. She completed the course “Education and Support for Women During Lactation” and, in 2025, became a lactation consultant in Poland.

Publications

  1. Radkiewicz M., Bzikowska-Jura A., Mołas A., Bertino E., Gandino S., van der Akker C., Drążkowska I., Gaweł P., Gawrońska M., van Goudover J.B. i wsp. Longitudinal Assessment of Vitamin Concentrations in Donor Human Milk. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2026, DOI: 10.1016/j.jfca.2026.109210.
  2. Kulesza-Brończyk B., Bzikowska-Jura A., Bień A., Mołas A., Wesołowska A., Molcan T., Gutkowska-Kawka D.,Kaczmarek M. Analysis of Human Milk Leptin and Ghrelin in Relation to Maternal Factors and Infant Weight Gain Within Six Months.  Polish Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2026, DOI: 10.31883/pjfns/218306.
  3. Mołas A., Lis-Kuberka J., Bzikowska-Jura A., Wesołowska A., Jin T., Socha M.W., Orczyk-Pawiłowicz M. Lactoferrin and SIgA Concentrations in Human Milk of SARS-CoV–Infected Mothers—Polish Cohort Study. Nutrients, 2025, DOI: 10.3390/nu17111840.
  4. Babiszewska-Aksamit M., Bzikowska-Jura A., Kotlińska A., Aduła A., Chrobak A., Domosud J., Drążkowska I., Gaweł P., Jakimiuk A., Kołodziej J., Królak-Olejnik B., Lisak-Gurba K., Mozdyniewicz K., Mołas A., Piątkowska A., Sinkiewicz-Darol E., Wesołowska A. Good practice in lactation counseling for Ukrainian refugee mothers to ensure the health and mental benefits of breastfeeding – an observational study. Archives of Womens Mental Health, 2025, DOI: 10.1007/s00737-024-01538-x.
  5. Wesołowska A., Walczak B., Kalita-Kurzyńska K., Mołas A., Bzikowska-Jura A.
    Feeding Strategies in Newborns and Infants During the COVID-19 Pandemic—Polish Cross-Sectional Study.
    International Journal of Public Health, 2023, DOI: 10.3389/ijph. 2023.1605590.
  6. Bzikowska-Jura A., Mołas A., Wesołowska A. Potencjał epigenetyczny mleka kobiecego i jego wpływ na modulowanie odporności u noworodka. Postępy Neonatologii, 2022.
  7. Kalita-Kurzyńska K., Mołas A., Kozak K., Dulęba M., Kiersnowska I. Assessment of Nutrition Knowledge During Lactation Among Postpartum Women. Medical Science Pulse, 2021, DOI: 10.5604/01.3001.0015.6027.
  8. Wesołowska A., Mołas A., Socha M. Karmienie piersią i mlekiem matki a ryzyko infekcji wirusowej SARS-CoV-2 u dziecka w obliczu pandemii COVID-19. Postępy Neonatologii, 2020.
  9. Kulesza-Brończyk B., Bzikowska-Jura A., Bień A., Mołas A., Wesołowska A., Molcan T., Gutkowska-Kawka D., Kaczmarek M.M. Analysis of Human Milk Leptin and Ghrelin in Relation to Maternal Factors and Infant Weight Gain Within Six Months. Polish Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2026, DOI: 10.31883/pjfns/218306.

Rozdziały w monografiach i podręcznikach:

  1. Mołas A., Wesołowska A. Znaczenie pasteryzacji typu Holder. [w:] Laktacja. Wiedza kliniczna i farmakoterapia, t. 2. Wydawnictwo Lekarskie PZWL, 2024.
  2. Mołas A., Wesołowska A. Obieg mleka od dawczyni do biorcy. [w:] Laktacja. Wiedza kliniczna i farmakoterapia, t. 2. Wydawnictwo Lekarskie PZWL, 2024.
  3. Mołas A., Wesołowska A. Poprawa jakości opieki okołoporodowej w zakresie wspierania karmienia piersią jako odpowiedź na kryzys demograficzny. [w:] Uwarunkowania dzietności. Materiały z III Kongresu Demograficznego. Główny Urząd Statystyczny, 2023, s. 316–324.
  4. Borszewska-Kornacka M., Wesołowska A., Mołas A. Znaczenie karmienia piersią. [w:] Żywienie niemowląt i małych dzieci w sytuacjach kryzysowych. Medical Tribune Polska, 2023.