Centers
Multiple Campuses. Multiple Disciplines.
There is a great public desire for more information on nutrition and how the foods we consume affect our health. There is also an increasing interest in supporting research that explores the development, treatment, and prevention of obesity. Both nutritional sciences and obesity research have become largely interdisciplinary and is primarily dependent upon the close interactions among researchers, health services providers, and educators to solve the most pressing health issues in the country.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is committed to supporting research for many of the most serious diseases affecting the general population and imparting this information to physicians, health professionals and the community at large with the goal of improving public health. The Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) program, supported by NIDDK, was specifically designed to combat the serious public health problem of obesity and support research that gives us a better understanding about the relationship between health and nutrition.
The NORC program supports 11 university-based centers that are are aimed at improving the quality and multidisciplinary nature of research in nutritional sciences and obesity by providing shared access to specialized services, resources, and expertise.
The overall goal of the program is to bring together basic science, clinical, and translational investigators from relevant disciplines to enhance and extend the effectiveness of nutritional sciences and obesity-related research.
To accomplish this, the NORCs are specifically designed to:
- Create an environment that supports important and innovative research
- Attract and retain early stage investigators and investigators new to nutrition and obesity research
- Provide core services that leverage funding and unique expertise
- Foster interdisciplinary collaborations, especially in emerging areas of research, to catalyze new ideas and scientific approaches
- Raise awareness and interest in fundamental and clinical nutrition and obesity research locally, regionally, and nationally
- Promote the translation of scientific discoveries from the bench to the bedside to the community in order to improve public health
- Enhance nutrition and obesity research education and training opportunities for patients, students, scientists, and clinicians
Contact Us
Mary Evans, PhD
Program Director, Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition
Contact Information
evansmary@mail.nih.gov • Phone: (301) 594-4578