The goal of the New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center (NYONRC) is to advance translational research in obesity and nutrition. This requires the development of a dynamic, cohesive and interactive community of researchers. The Enrichment Program plays a central role in fostering this community, in which ideas, techniques and expertise are freely exchanged. The Enrichment Program accomplishes this through weekly meetings, special lectures, annual symposia/classes and by supporting educational efforts for students and fellows. All of these efforts are coordinated with other programs at Columbia and Einstein, so that there is complementarity and non-overlapping. With the movement of the St. Luke's faculty to the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), the weekly seminar series has been revamped and received significant financial support from the Division of Preventive Medicine & Nutrition at Columbia. The NYONRC now holds two weekly seminars: The DeWitt Goodman Seminar Series which brings researchers from beyond Columbia and Einstein to the NYONRC and provides a forum for local NYONRC researchers to present well developed research projects, and the Berrie Center Work-in-Progress Seminar Series at which students and post-doctoral fellows present their on-going research. The NYONRC also organizes and promotes several annual programs including the DeWitt Goodman Lectureship, Obesity Prevention Month and the Obesity Course. Along with other annual programs held at Columbia and Einstein, these longstanding programs promote the exchange of data, ideas and are aimed: 1) To promote scientific exchange among NYONRC investigators. The NYONRC is more than a collection of individually operating laboratories. It is a vital community of scientists who exchange ideas, approaches and data leading to collaborations and mutual support. These scientific exchanges are most effective when investigators present their work on an ongoing basis. 2) To facilitate the interactions between Center investigators and non NYONRC scientists. Fresh approaches, ideas and models provide stimuli for innovative science. To cultivate innovation the NYONRC hosts researchers from outside of Einstein and Columbia and local scientists who have expertise beyond obesity and nutrition. The weekly DeWitt Goodman Seminar Series provide the opportunity for NYONRC investigator to hear and discuss scientific work beyond the NYONRC community. 3) To support the education, training and development of scientists studying obesity. The education of young scientists is critical in maintaining any scientific community. This has been borne out by the long history of the NYONRC training its own future leaders. The NYONRC leadership actively supports the training programs that add substantially to the intellectual environment of the Center and are critical for its future.
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