Nutrition Obesity Research Center

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

– OVERALL COMPONENT   The major goal of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) at the University of Washington (UW) is to support basic, clinical, and translational research at UW related to nutrition, obesity, and related metabolic disturbances. To achieve this goal, we include three biomedical research cores, an Administrative and Enrichment Core, and Enrichment and Pilot and Feasibility Programs. Collectively, these Cores and Programs support research using animal models as well as translational, clinical, and epidemiological research. As the preeminent educational institution in the Northwest, our research base derives from a large, highly productive, School of Medicine that includes both clinical and basic research Departments, a School of Public Health, and affiliated research institutions. We offer services that focus on three overarching scientific themes: Energy Balance and Obesity Pathogenesis, Health Risks of Obesity, and Nutritional Aspects of Systemic Illness. Our areas of emphasis include: central regulation of metabolism and energy balance, risk and protective factors in cardiometabolic health, and dietary biomarkers. Our Cores’ objectives are to support our investigators, to advance nutrition and obesity-related science, to foster new collaborations, and to educate and inform the local community about the fields of nutrition and obesity. The Cores include: 1) an Energy Balance Core, which offers measures of body composition and energy balance and related endpoints in rodent models; 2) an Analytic Core, which provides AIs with access to cost-effective, state-of-the-art laboratory assays for both clinical and basic research, including multiple assays designed specifically to meet the evolving needs of our AIs, and includes the Discovery Metabolomics Subcore; 3) a Clinical and Translational Research Services Core which provides Affiliate Investigators (AIs) performing human studies with support for study conduct including human phenotyping, measures of body composition, specialized noninvasive imaging assessment tools, meal preparation, nutrition assessment, and exercise testing and training; and 4) an Administrative and Enrichment Core that is responsible for all day-to-day operations as well as administering the Enrichment and Pilot and Feasibility Programs that serve the educational and training needs of the local research community. The latter Core also contains a Biostatistics Subcore that offers expertise and support to UW NORC faculty, personnel, and AIs for study design and statistical analyses. In this way, the UW NORC increases efficiency to meet the evolving research and educational needs of its large nutrition/obesity research base, which consists of 81 AIs, with collective research funding of $60.2 million in annual direct costs.