Amelia McHugh

Amelia graduated from UMass Amherst in spring 2026 with a BS in Animal Science with a concentration in Research and Biotechnology. She joined Dr. Arcaro's lab during the summer of 2025 as an undergraduate student. Her research focuses on Mammary Epithelium Permeability and its impact on postpartum women's lactation and infant health. Our goal is to provide women information to help them reach their personal lactation goals.

As a graduate student Amelia is excited to continue her research and she has stepped into the role of study manager. She works on a variety of different parts of our study including recruitment and enrolling, participant home visits, and sample processing. In the lab she measures the sodium, potassium, and macro-nutrient content of breastmilk samples as well as analyzing cytokine levels.

Amelia's research interests lie in women's reproductive health and oncology. In the future she plans to become a clinical research coordinator and continue to help facilitate research projects.