Ana Maria Linares, DNS, RN, IBCLC, FAAN, FILCA

Associate Professor

Dr. Ana Maria Linares is a national and international expert in human lactation and has worked in maternal-child and women's health for 40 years in Chile and the U.S. She has a program of research to improve health and achieve health equity through the development of a culturally appropriate exclusive breastfeeding intervention among Hispanic women.  Dr. Linares coordinates three international studies sponsored by the International Child Health Nursing Network to determine cultural factors influencing breastfeeding.  

Dr. Linares has published in multiple indexed journals and presented her research findings at international and national conferences.  Dr. Linares has received multiple awards in recognition of her research and advocacy for breastfeeding in vulnerable groups; she was the recipient of the Minority Health Researcher of the Year, Southern Nursing Research Society 2020, inducted as a Fellow of the American Nursing Association in 2022, and Fellow of the Internacional Lactation Consultant Association in 2023. She was awarded the Hispanic Nurse of the Year in 2023 by the National Hispanic Nurse Association.   

As a bilingual/bicultural immigrant doctoral-prepared nurse-midwife/IBCLC, Dr. Linares has a global perspective on the discipline of nursing and human lactation and has trained and mentored more than 350 faculty members, health professionals, and students in countries like Peru, Brazil, Mexico, and Ecuador.  She received a teaching and research award from the Fulbright Scholars Program, where she implemented a study to understand the determinants of iron deficiency anemia in Peruvian children and its association with infant feeding practices. Dr. Linares is actively serving in several local, national, and international committees, including the Research Committee of the Internationa Lactation Consultant Association, Member of the Breastfeeding Expert Panel of the American Academy of Nursing, an Editorial Board member of the Journal of Human Lactation. 

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