F. Abstract (Enrichment Program) The Enrichment Program conducts activities that support the mission of the NORC and are designed ?to facilitate and promote collaborative and multidisciplinary interactions that will foster new research ideas and enhance the translation of basic nutritional research findings into the clinical arena and ultimately into clinical application?. It provides opportunities to foster multidisciplinary approaches to nutrition/obesity research and to attract new investigators or investigators with relevant expertise to the field. The program accomplishes this by 1) improving communication among NORC researchers, 2) monitoring the activities of investigators associated with the NORC grant, 3) promoting awareness of the NORC and disseminating information about its research findings to other scientists, health care professionals and the community, and 4) coordinating events that attract distinguished nutritional scientists to Pennington Biomedical. The Program teams with other NIH sponsored research and training groups in Louisiana (The Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center, Pennington Biomedical's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, two T32 Training Grants, one T35 training grant) to maximize resources for training and enrichment. The program is directed by Dr. Phillip Brantley who has extensive experience in scientific education and has served in his current position since the inception of the NORC. A variety of vehicles will be used to deliver the enrichment opportunities including formal coursework, hands on laboratory mentoring, seminars, workshops, scientific retreats, web based training, newsletters and community health fairs. Efforts will be made to reach out across the state and to provide enrichment opportunities for current and future nutrition/obesity researchers at multiple career levels including NORC member scientists, faculty from Louisiana universities and medical schools, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students, and medical students. Future plans include expansion of activities to include clinical investigators across Louisiana involved in the recently funded PCORI trial to reduce obesity in primary care and with the state wide expansion of the HEADS UP study examining insurance sponsored surgical and nonsurgical weight management.
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