Enrichment Program

NIH RePORTER · NIH · P30 · $74,956 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Consistent with its overarching goal of fostering communication and collaboration among the large community of nutrition and obesity researchers at Harvard, the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard (NORC-H) Enrichment Program has the goals of (1) promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing among nutrition and obesity researchers; (2) providing interactions between trainees at all levels to further education about nutrition and obesity; (3) providing mentorship and resources for early career investigators, and (4) fostering diversity among the nutrition/obesity research workforce. The program provides enrichment activities that bring together accomplished researchers, clinical providers, junior faculty, and trainees from multiple disciplines to discuss cutting-edge research and foster collaboration and mentorship. In addition, NORC-H gives a voice to the importance of education in nutrition and obesity for trainees at all levels within the Harvard system and greater Boston Community. One of the primary enrichment activities of the NORC-H is an Annual Symposium on an emerging theme in nutrition or obesity research, with relevant lectures, panel discussions, and networking opportunities to attendees from the Boston area and beyond. The Enrichment Program also supports trainees, junior faculty, and researchers from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (URM). Since the last grant renewal, we have initiated a mentoring program for Pilot & Feasibility recipients, the NORC-H Diversity Scholars program to support outstanding early career investigators from URM backgrounds, awards to promote junior faculty and inclusive mentoring, office hours for key NORC-H leaders to increase their accessibility to NORC-H members, and a NORC-H Associate Member Council for early-career NORC-H members to network, collaborate, and take advantage of NORC-H resources. The Enrichment Program has also continued to support multiple educational efforts by NORC-H members, including the Longwood Nutrition Seminars and the Blackburn Obesity Course. Further, multiple members of the NORC-H are faculty on NIH training grants, and NORC-H collaborates with these faculty to provide mentorship and support to trainees who are the younger generation of investigators in the fields of nutrition and obesity. Finally, communication with our Research Base and the larger community is a key function of the Enrichment Program, serving to increase cohesiveness and collaboration and to help researchers and providers stay current on the most recent scientific advances in the field. To accomplish this, the Enrichment Program maintains the NORC-H website, with information about NORC-H Cores, resources, links to NORC-H publications, The NORC-H disseminates a bi-monthly newsletter to over 900 subscribers with announcements, featured publications, early career investigator profiles, and local events related to nutrition and obesity. Through these activities, the Enrich...

Key facts

NIH application ID
10499408
Project number
2P30DK040561-26
Recipient
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
Principal Investigator
CHRISTOPHER P DUGGAN
Activity code
P30
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2022
Award amount
$74,956
Award type
2
Project period
1997-09-01 → 2027-07-31