Ana Maria Linares, DNS, RN, IBCLC, FAAN

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 over 47 publications 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; she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Nursing Association in 2022; and in 2023 she was awarded Hispanic Nurse of the Year, 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.  Dr. Linares is an active member of ILCA, has served on the Research Committee, and is an Editorial Board member of the Journal of Human Lactation.