Baylor awarded grant to establish…

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine received a $5.9 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to establish the Houston Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (H-NORC). The five-year grant aims to enhance the multidisciplinary nature and quality of obesity and nutritional sciences research by providing access to specialized services, resources and expertise.

H-NORC includes three biomedical research cores - clinical and translational obesity research, cellular and molecular metabolism, and neuroendocrine - as well as an enrichment program to provide training, mentorship and development for future leaders in the field.

Dr. Mark Herman, section chief of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Baylor, and Dr. Kristin Eckel-Mahan of UT Health Houston, serve as co-principal investigators. The center's leadership team includes Drs. Sean Hartig, Benjamin Arenkiel, Stephanie Sisley, Chunmei Wang, and Samer Mattar. H-NORC also is affiliated with the University of Texas Health Science Center Houston, Ben Taub Hospital, Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, the Michael E. DeBakey VA Hospital, the USDA/ARS Children's Research Nutrition Center and Texas Children's Hospital.

"Our unique combination of clinical endocrinologists, nutrition scientists, neuroscientists and molecular biologists coupled with our outstanding research and clinical facilities make H-NORC the ideal structure to fulfill our mission and address the need for new therapies for patients with obesity and/or nutrition-related diseases," Herman said. "We are excited to grow our network of clinicians and basic scientists and look forward to many fruitful collaborations in the future."