Consultant neonatologist sets ‘liquid-gold’ standard with UL PhD in pioneering breast milk research

NEONATOLOGIST and paediatrician Professor Roy Philip, a pioneer in breast milk research, swapped his hospital scrubs for graduation robes, as he was conferred with a PhD in Preventive Neonatology at University of Limerick.

Professor Philip graduated from the Faculty of Education and Health Science and was one of 2,038 students conferred as part of ULs winter conferring ceremonies.

Based in Limerick for over 25 years, Professor Philip has dedicated his career to the care of the tiniest and most vulnerable patients as Adjunct Full Professor of Neonatology at UL, and Consultant Neonatologist and Paediatrician at University Maternity Hospital Limerick (UMHL) and University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

Professor Philip’s PhD in preventative neonatology is the culmination of over 15 years of research into the benefits of breastmilk, specifically for pre-term babies.

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“In Ireland, despite all the efforts up to now, we have one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, so I wondered, if breast milk is so beneficial to the babies, how could we optimise it? When I started this journey about 15 years ago, the use of breast milk for our extremely pre-term babies in the neonatal unit at UMHL was less than 20%.”

Over the last 14 years the unit has successfully maintained 100% of human milk exposure (including donor milk) for the tiny pre-term babies without a single failure, a success that Professor Philip puts down to the support of the entire staff, “we are so proud of the whole team, it’s not something one person can do, this is a 100% team effort”, he said.

“I usually tell the mums of the preterm babies, breastmilk is literally liquid gold. If you go to any shop, everybody is looking for superfoods, but nature has given us the most advanced superfood for a baby, and that is breast milk."

“No technology today can come anywhere near it, the immunological benefits, lifelong protection, none of that, it’s nature's first vaccine, and we are still only learning about breast milk,” said Professor Philip.

Professor Philip’s research in this space is internationally recognised and has been acknowledged on a global stage. In February 2025, he received the best clinical presentation award from The Human Milk Institute (HMI) at an event in San Diego, USA. 

Born in Kerala, India, Professor Philip had an interest in biology from a young age, an interest that developed into a lifelong passion for medicine.   

Studying at Kottayam Medical College, University of Kerala, in the 1980’s Professor Philip gravitated towards paediatric and neonatal medicine. Based in Trivandrum Medical College in Kerala for his training, he could see the limitations put on the care they could provide to newborn babies, with the limited resources available to staff.

The hospital staff there delivered over 10,000 babies a year, and Prof Philip could see how “small interventions can make a significant lifelong impact for the families."

His time in India was crucial to formulating his foundation in clinical medicine, he said: “Even though I have had a great opportunity to see all the best technology in Ireland and UK, my care is still rooted in the interaction with the patients, parents and the clinical side.”

Wanting to specialise further in neonatal care, he decided to move further afield to develop his expertise in the oldest functioning maternity hospital in the world, The Rotunda Hospital in Dublin. Fast forward to January 2026, with decades of dedication to neonatal and paediatric care in Ireland behind him, and he has achieved his lifelong dream of completing a PhD.

With almost forty years of clinical experience behind him, Prof Philip is still impressed by the infants in his care.

“I think it is amazing how resilient the little ones are and how much of a difference we can offer to the families, when we make them better."

“The smaller they are, the less they can communicate to us; the challenge is to pick up the nuances of their medical derangements. When the patient is unable to communicate with you, especially with the really pre-term babies, they are the most vulnerable citizens of any country. If we can invest in them, it is an investment to both family and society for a very long period,” added Prof Philip.

According to Prof Philip, approximately 10% of babies are born prematurely, which equates to roughly ten - 12 million babies born prematurely globally each year. These figures vary greatly from country to country and can be higher in developing countries. 

“The sad part is, even now a good number of premature babies, particularly in the resource-limited countries, are not getting sufficient medical, technological, and clinical support. Thankfully, there has been huge progress made in neonatal care globally over the last 30 to 40 years,” said Prof Philip.

Professor Colum Dunne, Head of the UL School of Medicine, supervised Prof Philip during his PhD. He said: “Lifelong learning is core to medicine. Roy’s strategies to encourage the use of mothers’ own milk and human milk fortifiers have proven to be highly effective."

“This PhD has resulted in new insights into approaches for the reduction of bacterial infection risk for newborn babies, and a much greater understanding of the most bioactive components of human breast milk. Roy has become a leader in innovative neonatal care and a credit to Irish medicine," added Professor Dunne.

For Prof Philip, the most fulfilling thing about his job is the opportunity to help people through difficult times in their lives. Roughly ten years ago, he remembers receiving an email from a parent he had met 18 years prior in the Rotunda hospital who wanted to tell him that she remembers him every year on her child’s birthday.

Reflecting on his career to date, Prof Philip said: “Sometimes we may be able to make a change in somebody's life with care, which may be immensely valuable for them, and people are so thankful for what you do. It is very fortunate to be in a career where you can really touch the lives of people.”