PumpKin is a Princeton University spinout revolutionizing breastmilk research and developing easy-to-use solutions for pumping parents. PumpKin exists so that rigorous research and scientific evidence can underpin how we feed our kin, more parents can reach their parenting and professional goals, and more babies can access breastmilk for longer.
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Justin Silpe
Justin Silpe is the chief science officer of PumpKin, which has developed two novel technologies to support pumping parents and improve maternal and infant health. Silpe was a fellow at Princeton University’s Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research. He received his Ph.D. in molecular biology, and he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University studying the connection between the vaginal microbiome and preterm birth. Silpe was awarded a Women's Health Fellowship from the Foundation for Women’s Wellness and worked in Princeton’s Complex Fluids Research Group, focusing on generating stable dairy emulsions. Most importantly, Silpe is a recent father. The PumpKin team’s project originated after Justin and his wife encountered infant feeding difficulties and realized there was a lack of high-quality breastfeeding research and practical solutions for parents. His scientific training matched this significant unmet need.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends infants be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life. However, an estimated one in four U.S. women return to work within two weeks of childbirth, and a reported 43 percent of U.S. women leave the workforce within three months. Given the lack of structural support for new parents, poor scientific evidence informing policy and practice, and lack of practical tools and solutions for pumping parents in particular, it’s no surprise that less than half of all infants are breastfed according to WHO’s guidelines. Parents and families urgently need better research, evidence, tools, and support.
Technology Vision
PumpKin has developed two novel technologies to support pumping parents and improve maternal and infant health: a clean-label breastmilk preservative that extends the shelf life of frozen human milk and rapid, point-of-care diagnostics that can enable parents, milk banks, and neonatal intensive care units to easily assess the nutritional composition and freshness of breastmilk. We envision a comprehensive platform of solutions that educate, inform, and empower parents to feed their children with breastmilk for as long as possible, improve breastfeeding in developed and developing countries, and increase access to this incredibly precious first food.
Potential for Impact
PumpKin aims to revolutionize breastfeeding practices, improve infant health, and eliminate wasted breastmilk, a valuable and scarce resource, by enabling human milk to be stored, assessed, and used for extended periods.