Enrichment Program

ENRICHMENT PROGRAM PROJECT SUMMARY The Enrichment Program of the UT Southwestern NORC has been designed with three overlying goals in mind. The first goal is to provide opportunities for the dissemination and exchange of knowledge among UT Southwestern students, principal investigators and their research teams, and health care professionals interested in nutrition and obesity research and in evidence-based clinical care of individuals with obesity. The second goal is to foster interactions between nutrition and obesity researchers at UT Southwestern with those at other NORC-funded institutions as well as institutions without NORC funding, as a means of facilitating the exchange of ideas and collaborations. The third goal is to engage the North Texas and wider community at large – both families and health professionals – in an effort to provide them knowledge on the science behind overweight and obesity, to better equip them with evidence-based, best practice strategies for improving metabolic health, and to familiarize them with the translational obesity-related research opportunities at UT Southwestern. In order to achieve these goals, our program will institute the following elements: 1) a UT Southwestern NORC Seminar Series, 2) the UT Southwestern NORC McGarry Symposium, 3) coursework and journal clubs for students in a new Molecular Metabolism and Metabolic Diseases Graduate Track and for students interested in nutrition and obesity who are currently funded by several T32 Training Programs on Campus, 4) an Introduction to the UT Southwestern NORC Core Facilities Workshop, 5) a community outreach program entitled, “UT Southwestern Weight Wellness and Healthy Lifestyle Day”, 6) an ongoing Podcast, and 7) maintenance of an active and up-to-date social media presence. This program will facilitate the dissemination and exchange of knowledge, will enhance educational opportunities, and will provide opportunities for outreach to the community.