Mahtab Matin, with a background in midwifery, is currently a second-year Ph.D. student in Nursing at UBC Okanagan. She is interested in sleep science and increasing the health of child-bearing families. With a strong interest in sleep science, her interdisciplinary research blends nursing, midwifery, microbiology, and neuroscience to explore innovative ways to support families of newborns.
Mahtab’s doctoral work focuses on how infant feeding practices (i.e., donor human milk, formula milk, and exclusive breastfeeding) affect sleep quality and gut microbiome composition in full-term infants exposed to antibiotics during labour. By integrating insights from nursing, medicine, and behavioral health sciences, her research highlights the lived experiences of infants and their caregivers to inform evidence-based practices. Through her collaboration with families and community partners, Mahtab’s work aims to empower parents and healthcare providers with actionable knowledge while contributing to global advancements in maternal-infant health and sleep science.