Education

CHLN supports education through several initiatives and efforts, including an ongoing seminar series of invited speakers, a postdoctoral fellowship program, and mentoring of students and junior faculty by numerous Center members. Many Center members work with undergraduate, masters, and/or PhD students from various degree programs at KUMC, KU, KCU medical school, and UMKC, as well as fellows from Children’s Mercy.

In 2024, the monthly CHLN seminar series joined forces with the KU Diabetes Institute (KUDI) and Kansas Center for Metabolism and Obesity Research (KC-MORE) at KUMC. This new integrated seminar series, titled the Kansas City Diabetes, Obesity, and Nutrition Seminar Series (KC-DONS), holds an educational seminar every 1-2 weeks. CHLN sponsors one speaker each month, which includes Center members as well as experts from across the U.S. and world. Several new Center members and emerging investigators presented their work through this seminar series, including Drs. Amy Bodde, Bethany Forseth, Robert Gibler, Anna Gorczyca, Chelsea Kracht, and Felicia Steger from KUMC, Drs. Denver Brown and Peter Stoepker from Kansas State University, and Drs. Casey Lawless and David White from Children’s Mercy. Notable outside speakers included Dr. Cassie M. Mitchell (University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center), who presented on “Maternal obesity & diet: Impact on liver & metabolic health during pregnancy & post-partum,” Dr. Lawrence Mandarino (University of Arizona College of Tucson), who presented on “A New Evolutionary Medicine Hypothesis to Explain Chronic Inflammation and Insulin Resistance,” and Dr. Bryan Bergman (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus), who presented on “Intermuscular adipose tissue – a novel adipose depot impacting muscle strength, size, and insulin sensitivity in humans.” The annual Kemper Healthy Lifestyles Lecture, which allows us to host a national expert for a “Grand Rounds” type presentation, was delivered by national expert Dr. Bridget Biggs (Mayo Clinic) on “Disordered Eating and Risk for Eating Disorders in Treatment of Pediatric Obesity.” We are grateful to all the presenters who took the time to share their expertise on behalf of the Center this past year.

Our postdoctoral fellowship program continues to mature and has evolved to include a monthly forum for fellows to support career development and networking. The Center has two fellowship slots, one of which is focused on diversity candidates and was renewed for 2025 through a generous gift from the W.T. Kemper Charitable Trust, UMB Bank, Trustee, which was championed by Sheila Kemper Dietrich, a passionate advocate in America’s fight against obesity who spearheaded the initiative to establish this generous program. The monthly postdoc forum also engages and supports “Center affiliated” postdocs who are funded elsewhere but work with Center members. This helps to create a strong network of support and camaraderie for our affiliated fellows and provides additional resources to Center members as they work to recruit the best and brightest to our institutions. The monthly forum was led by CHLN members Drs. Amanda Bruce and Bethany Forseth of KUMC and covered topics such as overcoming challenges of being a postdoc, path to your dream job, transition to faculty, and peer networking. A favorite activity among postdocs was the 2-day grant writing retreat that provided dedicated time for grant writing and support from faculty members.