Greetings!     

We are grateful for your continued engagement in food innovation. The recent obesity conference is an event for which thanks and recognition are certainly in order. FIC thanks Associate Director Mark Failla for his leadership and service as a member of the Planning Committee, a moderator, and as co-organizer of the post-conference workshop and the follow-on grant writing workshop. In this issue, enjoy Mark's conference recap, followed by news, events, and funding updates.  

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Conference of Obesity and Chronic Disease: Making and Unmaking the Epidemic a Huge Success 
The OSU Food Innovation Center partnered with Nationwide Children's Hospital to co-sponsor the 2nd Biennial Obesity and Chronic Disease conference at the Blackwell on November 1 and 2. The conference was a great success, attracting more than 260 participants each day. The three half day sessions were focused on Childhood Obesity and Adult Disease, The Doing and Undoing of Extreme Obesity in Teens and Adults, and Public Health and Industry Partnerships, in addition to a post-conference workshop where OSU Extension Specialists, Dietetic Interns, graduate students, and staff from Columbus City Department of Public Health and the Franklin County Women, Infant and Children's (WIC) Program interacted further with corporate and communications experts.

Among the international cast of speakers were FIC faculty members Bob Murray, Dara Schuster, Laureen Smith, Marc Michalsky, Brad Needleman, Ihuoma Eneli and Cheryl Achterberg. FIC members moderating included Carolyn Gunther, Dara Schuster, and Sharell Mikesell. Attendees included 16 FIC faculty and 38 FIC associate members (8 staff and 30 trainees). FIC Director Ken Lee enthralled the audience with his opening remarks, while David Kessler, former Commissioner

of the US Food and Drug Administration, delivered the Keynote address titled "Food, the Food Industry and Public Health." Thanks are given for the considerable efforts of Marc Michalsky, Bob Murray, Brad Needleman, Laureen Smith and Dara Schuster on the conference Planning Committee and to FIC Executive Manager Carolee Barber, Program Manager Alex Barkley and Fiscal/HR Associate Meg Dick for coordinating FIC participation. Post-conference activities continue as I collaborate with FIC members Karen Bruns, Julie Kennel and Michelle Battista to lead a grant writing workshop related to obesity prevention. The first meeting is 1 PM, Friday, December 2, in 295 Campbell Hall. If you are interested in more details, contact me (failla.3@osu.edu). 

Mark Failla

FIC Associate Director

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Nine multi-college teams are now planning new collaborative projects through FIC Team Awards of up to $2,500 each. Congratulations to the teams led by these PIs: Joshua Bomser, Janet Buckworth, Ihuoma Eneli, Jacqueline Goodway, Shannon Hollis, Casey Hoy, Weidong Li, Colleen Spees, and Christopher Taylor. The work is indeed multidisciplinary: 65 Ohio State team members from 10 colleges and two VP units, together with four external partners and seven advisory board members, form the nine funded teams. Read more.   

The Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum showcases the innovative research being conducted by Ohio State graduate students. Participants can take part as oral presenters or as poster presenters. Awards, totaling more than $15,000, will be given out. The forum will be held Friday, Feb. 24, at the Ohio Union. The abstract deadline is Friday, Dec. 16. Apply. 
 

This event is part of the Department of Human Nutrition Autumn Seminar Series and is hosted by FIC faculty members Ouliana Ziouzenkova and Earl Harrison.

For Faculty:

Aetna Foundation Obesity Grants 

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) - Food Security 

Healthy Habits: Timing for Developing Sustainable Healthy Behaviors in Children and Adolescents (NIH R01, R03, R21) 

NSF Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) 

For Postdocs:

Postdoctoral Fellowships - The World Vegetable Center (AVRDC) 

For Students: 

Go Viral to Improve Health: Health Data Challenge

Map the Meal Gap

Feeding America undertook the Map the Meal Gap project to learn more about the face of hunger at the local community level. Select a state from the interactive map and start learning more about the residents struggling with hunger and the food banks that serve them. Go to the map   

Market for Local Food
"Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States" is a Nov. 2011 report from the USDA Economic Research Service. The study uses nationally representative data on marketing of local foods to assess the relative scale of local food marketing channels. One finding is that "marketing of local foods, via both direct-to-consumer and intermediated channels, grossed $4.8 billion in 2008-about four times higher than estimates based solely on direct-to-consumer sales." Read the report    

USDA National Farmers Market Directory
This directory containing more than 7,200 farmers markets is one of the Department of Agriculture's most popular consumer search engines. It is searchable by zip code, product availability, payment method and market participation in federal nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), Women, Infant and Children (WIC), WIC Cash Value Vouchers (WIC CVV) and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Programs (SFMNP). Access the directory 

COLLEEN SPEES RESEARCHES NUTRITIONAL SOLUTIONS TO CANCER 

Colleen Spees has always been interested in the role that diet played in disease, and set her sights on a career where she would counsel patients and train future dietitians. With multiple family members diagnosed with various types of cancer, Colleen decided to make the transition from clinical professional and nutrition educator to research scientist.

 "My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 42. I had already lost a brother at age 15 to lymphosarcoma," recalls Spees, now an assistant professor of Medical Dietetics and Health Sciences in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University, "Our family began to wonder if there might be a genetic component that made us more susceptible to getting cancer. This is when I began delving into the research."  Read on...

GONUL KALETUNC, SUDHIR SASTRY, AND AHMED YOUSEF COLLABORATE TO TACKLE SAFETY ISSUES WITH LEAFY GREENS

According to the Food and Drug Administration, 82 foodborne illness outbreaks between 1996 and 2008 were linked to the consumption of fresh produce. More than one-third of them were traced to leafy greens, accounting for 949 illnesses and five deaths.  Read the full article. 
 

ERICH GROTEWOLD TO LEAD NEW CENTER FOR APPLIED PLANT SCIENCES