Enrichment Program

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Abstract/Summary – Enrichment Program The overall goal of the Enrichment Program is to advance basic, clinical and translational research on nutrition and obesity by fostering scientific interchange among MNORC members and promoting training and development of students, fellows and junior investigators. To accomplish this goal, the Enrichment Program will 1) promote active collaboration and interchange among MNORC investigators with laboratory, clinical or population-based research on nutrition and obesity; 2) foster interactions among researchers from diverse, relevant disciplines that can drive discovery and innovation in nutrition and obesity research; 3) advance training in nutrition and obesity. Our primary venue for cross-disciplinary interaction is the MNORC symposium and poster session on cutting edge topics in nutrition and obesity research that have implications for basic, clinical and public health researchers and their trainees across campus. Additional, weekly research seminars on nutrition and obesity topics that attract MNORC members feature in-depth discussions of study design, statistical analysis and interpretation to support rigor and reproducibility in basic and translational research. Bi-monthly investigator meetings through the Momentum Center/Child Obesity Research Core include not only presentations of ongoing research but also discussions of measurement standardization, study design and best practices for recruitment and retention and data collection protocols in pediatric nutrition and obesity research. Trainees (dietetic interns, medical and graduate students, fellows and allied health professionals) are provided supervised clinical internships in the MNORC Cores and Weight Management Program. The expansion of courses in molecular/biochemical nutrition and nutrition epidemiology and interventions through the Department of Nutritional Sciences, launched at the School of Public Health in 2015, and via the School’s new online MPH in Population Health (including a certificate in Precision Nutrition) has dramatically expanded opportunities to train future health professionals and nutrition researchers at undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. MNORC investigators routinely present their research in the Nutritional Sciences bi-weekly seminar. Through the Enrichment Core, online videos of Core services will allow for easy access by MNORC members to best practices in human phenoytyping, adipose tissue studies and metabolomics. Enrichment program activities are integrated and coordinated through the Administrative Core, ensuring they support rigor and reproducibility across cores’ services and optimize coordination and interactions among nutrition and obesity researchers and trainees.