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Gerald Combs Jr., Ph.D. |
Dr. Combs lecture — which is part of the monthly Clinical and Translational Research (CTR) Seminar Series — will start at noon in the Eppley Science Hall Amphitheater.
Dr. Combs and his team have been charged by the USDA with exploring approaches to the problem of obesity. The center’s focus on obesity led Jennifer Larsen, M.D., to invite the lab to be part of the Great Plains Health Research Consortium — a group of institutions including UNMC that have combined to apply for a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health.
“The Grand Forks center is the USDA’s primary location for research into obesity and obesity prevention,” Dr. Larsen said, “and their work fits in well with many of the areas we are focused on in terms of the CTSA.”
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“Because of this link to our focus areas, Dr. Combs’ center is a natural fit for our consortium,” she said.
Dr. Combs’ team studies ways to prevent obesity at community and biological levels.
About half of its annual $10 million budget goes to support community-level programs aimed at obesity prevention. The rest of the budget is directed toward the study of nutritional factors that contribute to, and possibly prevent, obesity.
Before becoming director of the Grand Forks laboratory, Dr. Combs served as professor of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University for 29 years. There, his team discovered that a nutrient found in some soils called “selenium” can reduce cancer rates.
He also is the author of the book, “The Vitamins: Fundamental Aspects in Nutrition and Health,” which Dr. Combs said at last check was rated as the “546,000th best seller” on Amazon.com.
“But I haven’t checked in awhile so it might have gone up,” he said with more than a hint of jest in his voice.
Dr. Combs’ lecture is part of an ongoing series of CTR seminars that are typically held on the third Monday of each month.
The series is aimed at bringing clinical and basic science investigators from across the university together to identify new ways to collaborate and answer important clinical questions.
The seminar will be recorded and available for investigators who cannot attend. It also will be televised at the following sites:
- College of Dentistry in Lincoln, Room 7;
- College of Nursing in Lincoln, Room 307;
- College of Nursing in Scottsbluff, Panhandle Station Room 203;
- College of Nursing in Kearney, CMCT 216; and
- College of Nursing in Omaha, Room 4078.