History

About Us

The Center of Excellence in Obesity and Cardiometabolic Research (COCR) at Texas Tech University (TTU) was formally approved by the TTU Board of Regents at its February 2019 meeting. Previously known as the Obesity Research Institute (ORI), the center has undergone a strategic realignment and name change to better reflect its expanded focus and integration within the university system.

The ORI was originally established in 2013 as the Obesity Research Cluster (ORC) within the College of Human Sciences (COHS), founded by Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa and Dean Linda Hoover, with support from OR&I. Dr. Moustaid-Moussa served as the ORI's Founding Director and most recently co-led the institute alongside Dr. Jannette Dufour (TTUHSC). With Dr. Moustaid-Moussa’s new role as Executive Director for the Institute for One Health Innovation (IOHI), leadership of the center transitions to Dr. Kembra Albracht-Schulte as Director, while Dr. Jannette Dufour (TTUHSC) remains as Co-Director.

Additionally, with ORI now reporting to IOHI, which is affiliated with both TTU and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), the name change to the Center of Excellence in Obesity and Cardiometabolic Research (COCR) reflects its evolving mission and expanded interdisciplinary collaborations.

COCR continues to serve as a central hub for cutting-edge research, bringing together scientists and experts from the TTU System, TTUHSC Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Biomedical Sciences to advance scientific discovery in obesity and cardiometabolic health.

 

President Cluster Hire

The President's Cluster Hire program was designed to contribute significant research towards TTU's goal to become a top tier research institution. These Clusters were expected to be interdisciplinary in nature but with a thematic focus that addressed a strategic research area. Related to the ORC, Nutrition and Obesity were included as strategic investment areas.

In fall 2014, the ORC was awarded the President's Cluster Hire Tier 2 (9/1/2014-8/30/2018) to support a postdoctoral fellow, external high-profile speakers experts in obesity, nutrition and metabolic diseases, and provide seed funds to support and incentivize pilot and feasibility collaborative research. Through 2019, ORI was primarily supported by COHS and the Office of Research Development and Communications.

COCR will continue this collaboration, which has extended over the years to other TTU colleges and TTUHSC campuses.