by: VIRMOLAB - UniTo | data 16/09/2026
In recent years, we have learned how quickly emerging viruses can become a global challenge. One of these is Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), an emerging respiratory virus identified by the World Health Organization as a priority for international research. EV-D68 primarily affects children, causing respiratory infections that can, in some cases, develop into severe disease and neurological complications. There are currently no specific preventive measures or treatments for this virus. It is therefore essential to gain a better understanding of the natural defence mechanisms that protect infants from their very first months of life. MILK-ACT was born to answer these questions.
We want to investigate whether human milk can help fight EV-D68 infection through its natural antiviral properties. Human milk is more than nourishment: it contains hundreds of bioactive molecules that help protect newborns. For years, our research has explored how these components interact with viruses. With MILK-ACT, we aim to launch a new line of research to analyse the antiviral properties of human milk against EV-D68, understand how this protective activity changes during neonatal digestion and identify the molecules andABE Associazione Bambino Emopatico peptides responsible for its action.
The findings will provide new scientific evidence on the protective role of human milk.
MILK-ACT will begin only if we reach our fundraising target: every donation will directly help unlocking the resources needed to make the entire project possible.
The research will unfold in several stages. We will begin by collecting samples of colostrum, transitional milk and mature milk from 10 donor mothers, together with the clinical data needed to understand the differences between the samples.
We will then assess, in our virology laboratory, the ability of human milk to counteract EV-D68 through antiviral tests on cell cultures. Because human milk is naturally digested by the infant, we will simulate the digestive process in the laboratory to determine whether its antiviral activity is maintained, reduced or even enhanced after digestion.
Finally, we will analyse the milk, before and after digestion, using advanced molecular techniques to identify the molecules and peptides responsible for its antiviral activity.
Our initial fundraising target is €8,000. Once this target is reached, the University of Turin will match the funding, allowing us to carry out a project worth a total of €16,000.
Donations will fund four main activities:
Reaching our target will be only the first step. If your support takes us beyond our fundraising goal, we will be able to expand the project and address new scientific questions.
Every additional euro raised will allow us to expand the research and generate new knowledge.
Scientific research requires time, costly resources (such as those described above) and teamwork. We believe that projects like this should also be made possible through community involvement. Supporting MILK-ACT means making a tangible contribution to new scientific knowledge about emerging viruses and the natural mechanisms that protect newborns. Every donation, no matter how small, helps turn a scientific idea into a real project.
Because protecting our youngest from the viruses of tomorrow begins with today's research!
The project will run for approximately 12 months:
Preliminary findings will be shared with the scientific community and with everyone who has helped support the project.
You are not simply supporting research: you are helping to get it started! Help us reach our goal!
We are a large interdisciplinary group of virologists, neonatologists and biochemists from the University of Turin and the Italian National Research Council (CNR). We have worked together for decades to study the antiviral properties of human milk, combining clinical and experimental expertise with a shared goal: protecting children's health through scientific research.
Today, some of us are serving as spokespeople for this fundraising campaign on behalf of the entire research group: Dr. Rachele Francese and Dr. Irene Arduino for the Virology Group, Dr. Simona Bavaro for the Biochemistry Group, and Dr. Giulia Maiocco for the Neonatology Group.
You will receive a personalised thank-you email from the MILK-ACT team and an official certificate recognising you as a MILK-ACT project supporter.
Your name will be officially listed among the supporters of the MILK-ACT project, with a public and permanent acknowledgement on a dedicated page of the VIRMOLAB website, the research infrastructure of the virology team.
You will receive an informative brochure about our decade of research into the antiviral properties of human milk, its bioactive components and the role of pasteurisation in donor human milk banks. Your name will also be included on the permanent page dedicated to MILK-ACT supporters on the VIRMOLAB website.
You will take part in an exclusive 30-minute online meeting with the MILK-ACT team, where you will meet the researchers and ask questions about emerging viruses, human milk and scientific research. Your name will also be included on the permanent page dedicated to MILK-ACT supporters on the VIRMOLAB website.
Would you like to discover what really happens behind the doors of a research laboratory? You will visit VIRMOLAB, the virology laboratory where MILK-ACT was created, either in person or on a virtual tour, to discover how we safely study viruses and human milk samples. Your name will also be included on the permanent page dedicated to MILK-ACT supporters on the VIRMOLAB website.
You will gain an inside view of the MILK-ACT project, receiving personalised progress updates every three months and joining the final online seminar with the MILK-ACT team, featuring in-depth insights and a preview of the results achieved. Your name will also be included on the permanent page dedicated to MILK-ACT supporters on the VIRMOLAB website.
You will become an integral part of the MILK-ACT project, and your name (or that of your company or family, if you prefer) will be included in the acknowledgements of the future scientific publication arising from the project and on the permanent page dedicated to MILK-ACT supporters on the VIRMOLAB website.
As a key supporter of the MILK-ACT project, you will receive a personalised acknowledgement in the future scientific publication and on the page dedicated to MILK-ACT supporters on the VIRMOLAB website; regular, detailed reports on the progress of the research; an online or in-person seminar with the research team at the end of the project; a private visit to the VIRMOLAB laboratory; and the opportunity to symbolically dedicate one stage of the project to a loved one or to the organisation providing support.
Every contribution can make a difference. Choose your own donation amount to support MILK-ACT, and you will receive a surprise reward created by our team.
VIRMOLAB è un’infrastruttura di ricerca dell’Università di Torino dedicata allo studio di virus noti ed emergenti e delle strategie antivirali innovative. Nasce dall’esperienza di un gruppo di ricerca attivo da anni nel campo della virologia sperimentale, con competenze consolidate nello studio delle interazioni tra virus, cellule e molecole bioattive. Nel corso del tempo, VIRMOLAB ha sviluppato attività di ricerca interdisciplinari, con particolare attenzione allo studio delle proprietà antivirali di composti naturali e fluidi biologici. In questo contesto, il latte umano rappresenta uno dei principali filoni di ricerca del gruppo, grazie a collaborazioni consolidate con neonatologi, biochimici e professionisti della salute materno-infantile. L’infrastruttura dispone di laboratori attrezzati per la manipolazione in sicurezza di virus patogeni, dove vengono eseguiti test antivirali in vitro, studi di interazione virus-cellula e valutazioni dell’attività biologica di nuove molecole. VIRMOLAB promuove una ricerca orientata non solo alla produzione di conoscenze scientifiche di alto livello, ma anche alla divulgazione scientifica e all’interazione con aziende esterne all’Università. Attraverso il progetto MILK-ACT, VIRMOLAB coordina una nuova linea di ricerca dedicata allo studio delle proprietà antivirali del latte umano contro Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), un virus emergente identificato dalla World Health Organization come prioritario per la ricerca internazionale. L’obiettivo è trasformare competenze scientifiche consolidate in nuove conoscenze sui meccanismi naturali di protezione dei neonati, contribuendo allo sviluppo di future strategie antivirali e alla valorizzazione del ruolo dell’allattamento materno nella salute dei più piccoli.
