Center Overview
The Johns
Hopkins Global Center on Childhood Obesity, was
established in September 2011 by a cooperative
agreement (#1 U54-HD070725-01) with the National
Institutes of Health (i.e., the Eunice Kennedy
Shriver National Institute on Child Health and
Human Development,
NICHD, and the Office of Behavioral and Social
Sciences Research,
OBSSR). In addition the Center receives
institutional co-funding from Johns Hopkins University.
The
purpose of the Center is to conduct both domestic and
international research and training to better
understand the causes and prevention of childhood
obesity as well as of other lifestyle related
non-communicable chronic diseases. Our research
emphasizes a systems science approach to understanding
these complex problems. Therefore, our research
features modeling and simulation methods, spatial
analysis guided by behavioral models, and basic science
to better understand and capture food intake, body
weight, and metabolism regulation. A hallmark of
our work is using state of the art tools and methods to
address the complex interactions and feedback loops
between biological, individual and social environmental
factors related to obesity and chronic disease.
While based at
the Johns Hopkins University, our multidisciplinary
researchers are based at leading institutions
around the globe. Key center members provides a
unique combination of expertise that provides a
strong foundation for research, training, and
outreach activities. At present, over 50
investigators from approximately 20 US and
international institutions participate in the
Center through teaching, research or learning. The
Center is an important part of the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research(NCCOR).
The Center’s
investigators are experts in a number of
disciplines and fields such as:
- • nutrition
- • epidemiology
- • biostatistics
- • medicine
- • health economics
- • engineering
- • systems science
- • environmental health science
- • urban planning
- • sociology
- • basic science
- • genetics
- • childhood obesity
- • child growth and development
- • minority health & health disparities
- • global health