MARCH NEWS
WE’RE MOVING!
After more than 30 years in Swanson Hall on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus, the offices of the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition are moving to a new space in Durham Plaza. This new accessible location in the heart of Omaha near 84th and Dodge streets and Children’s Hospital was once the offices of Gretchen Swanson and Swanson Enterprises. So in essence, we’re moving “back home.”
Our projected moving date is April 1 and new mailing address will be:
8401 West Dodge Road, Suite 100
Omaha, NE 68114
All staff phone numbers and e-mail addresses will remain the same, including our main office phone number.
We are thrilled to be taking this next big step into our future, and hope you will visit us in our new space!
CENTER HOSTING SYMPOSIUM ON “CANCER PREVENTION AND CONTROL UTILIZING NUTRITION”
The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition is hosting a symposium, “Cancer Prevention and Control Utilizing Nutrition through Multiple Approaches,” on Friday April 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Thompson Center on the University of Nebraska Omaha campus.
With generous funding provided by Board Member Rick Bucholz, the Center was able to support five nutrition-based cancer prevention and control pilot studies in Nebraska and Oklahoma. These studies have a specific focus on Native American populations utilizing multiple approaches ranging from bench to bedside.
At the symposium, these five research groups from Nebraska and Oklahoma will make presentations on their work:
Child Care Influence on Health Outcomes in American Indian Preschoolers
Susan B. Sisson, PhD, CHES
Assistant Professor
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Department of Nutritional Services
Building Foundations for a Healthy New Generation of American Indians
Terry T-K Huang, Ph.D., MPH
Professor and Chair
College of Public Health | University of Nebraska Medical Center
Department of Health Promotion & Social and Behavioral Health
Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases as Targets of Polyphenolic Antioxidants
Zhizhuang Joe Zhao, Ph.D.
Alfred M. Shideler Professor and Director of Experimental Pathology
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Department of Pathology
Utilizing a Ketogenic Diet to Target Cachexia Syndrome in Pancreatic Cancer
Pankaj K. Singh, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Eppley Institute
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Evaluating the Efficacy of Omega-3-Fatty Acids in Reversing Chemotherapy Resistance and the Metastatic Phenotype in Pancreatic Cancer
Keith R. Johnson, Ph.D.
Professor
Eppley Institute
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Dr. Ken Resnicow from the University of Michigan will be one of the keynote speakers with a second keynote speaker to be scheduled soon. Food and beverages will be available throughout the day, and guests may attend all day or any specific portion of the day they choose by registering here by April 16 to ensure space and meals for everyone.
To learn more about the research projects, click here.
CENTER EVALUATING “BRIDGING THE GAP” PROGRAM
Bridging the Gap (BTG) is a research program that was created in 1997 with the intent of improving the understanding of the roles policy and environmental factors play in youth alcohol, illicit drug and tobacco use, as well as diet and physical activity – and to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing substance use and obesity among youth.
In recent years, BTG has expanded its objectives and activities to include the impact of policy, environmental and programmatic factors on youth healthy eating, physical activity and obesity.
The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition and Gutman Research Associates based in Cranbury, N.J. are teaming up to lead the evaluation of BTG activities and impact to date. The evaluation will use key informant interviews and quantitative analysis of documents to assess accomplishments and inform potential contributions BTG could make to the field, highlighting newly implemented advocacy hubs.
FARM TO INSTITUTION MATERIALS AVAILABLE
The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition and Partners for a Healthy City have partnered on an innovative new Farm to Institution program developed for Omaha-area businesses to help enable employers and farmers to connect on getting local healthy food directly to the worksites. The Center leads the Farm to Institution portion of the Live Well Omaha: Community Transformation Grant, which is supported by Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds awarded to the Center by the Douglas County Health Department.
The Center recently developed Farm to Institution materials for employers and organizations that wish to implement Farm to Institution efforts into their worksites. To obtain Lunch and Learn lecture series information, recipes, a local foods seasonality chart and other materials, contact Mary Chapman at mchapman@centerfornutrition.org or (402) 559-5506.
MEETINGS AND PRESENTATIONS
YALE RUDD CENTER
On February 5, Dr. Amy Yaroch presented “Hunger and Obesity: A Continuing Conundrum” as part of the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity Seminar Series. Her presentation podcast and notes are now available here.
HEALTHY EATING RESEARCH
Drs. Yaroch and Pinard will attend the 7th Annual Healthy Eating Research (HER) Grantee Meeting in New Orleans from March 13 through 15. Yaroch has served on its planning committee for several years, and will be presenting a Funder Roundtable on “Being Proactive in a Tough Funding Environment.” Pinard will present a poster titled “Developing a Toolkit to Measure Access to Healthy Foods at Urban and Rural Corner Stores” for her recently funded Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections grant through the HER program.
NUTRITION AND OBESITY POLICY RESEARCH AND EVALUATION NETWORK
In conjunction with the RWJF Healthy Eating Research meeting, Drs. Yaroch and Pinard will also attend a workgroup meeting of the Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (NOPREN), hosted by Harvard Prevention Research Center, on Wednesday, March 13.
SOCIETY OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
Drs. Amy Yaroch and Courtney Pinard and Graduate Assistant Teresa Smith, M.S. will be attending the 34th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) from March 20 through 23 in San Francisco.
At the meeting, Smith will present a poster titled “Fruit and Vegetables as Snacks in the Home Food Environment: Findings from a Survey of Parent-Child Dyads,” and Pinard will present a poster titled “Sips and Sides: Caregiver Ordering of Healthier Beverages and Sides for Children at Fast Food and Chain Restaurants.”
Dr. Yaroch recently joined SBM’s Health Policy Committee, which identifies, assesses and develops key opportunities to inform the policy debate at the federal level on issues related to the SBM mission.
The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition aids in survey development and evaluation for national organizations and others. If you are interested in finding out more about these services, please contact Dr. Amy Yaroch, executive director, at ayaroch@centerfornutrition.org.
