The Obesity Research Institute (ORI) is a program involving faculty in many diverse fields who are engaged in collaborative transdisciplinary and translational research.
ADDRESSING CRITICAL HEALTH ISSUES
Obesity is a growing problem in the United States. According to the latest estimates from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), more than one-third of American adults are obese, and that rate has been rising steadily for decades. Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa, FTOS, FAHA, is Professor in Nutritional Sciences and Founding Director of the Texas Tech Obesity Research Institute (ORI). She has grown the ORI into an interdisciplinary collaboration involving faculty in many diverse fields who conduct research ranging from basic science to clinical studies to community-based nutrition research. ORI research teams are engaged in collaborative transdisciplinary and translational research. They also coauthor publications and grants funded by federal agencies and foundations.
FUNDING AND SUPPORT
With new funding of $500,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture for the 2019 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, the ORI moves forward in its research mission to find solutions to society's critical health issues. Research funding also comes from the National Institutes of Health, USDA, and the American Heart Association to help understand the link between diet, genetics, adipose tissue function, obesity and metabolic diseases.
STRATEGIC OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE COMMUNITY
ORI is involved in several outreach activities and community-based engagement and research. Each year, ORI organizes an annual meeting related to obesity research. The most recent one was held in May 2019 that focused on rural health and hosted speakers from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, USDA Agricultural Research Service Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) in El Paso, and the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health at TTUHSC. These events have been co-sponsored by the College of Human Sciences and the Office of Research and Innovation at TTU.
ORI is engaged in and actively pursuing collaborations with the Center for Integrative Health at TTUHSC Lubbock, the Diabetes Center at TTUHSC Permian Basin, and TTUHSC El Paso Center of Emphasis in Diabetes and Metabolism. Members of the ORI conduct community-based research both internationally and locally in areas of food insecurity, obesity prevention, nutrition, and health promotion.