Clarissa Somers is a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky, where she studied food science as a Patterson Scholar. Upon graduation, she was awarded the Diachun Scholar Award for attaining the highest academic achievements in a scientific field among her class within the Lewis Honors College. She is interested in understanding the prebiotic and probiotic components of human milk and their role in the development of infants’ gastrointestinal microbiota. As a Fulbright recipient, she will be completing a MSc in Food Microbiology at the University College Cork to attain a greater understanding of dairy microbiology and ultimately pursue a career in human milk research and education. Clarissa is an ardent advocate for increasing breastfeeding rates and for improving the practices and policies that impact them.