Join Us

Join Our Team

The Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition relies on your support for many of our programs. Below are descriptions of community opportunities to become involved with our work:

Open Employment and Student Opportunities

Kansas City is located in the heart of America. It has small-town friendliness, with big-city dining, a variety of entertainment options, incredible jazz, professional sports, world-renowned museums, great shopping and more fountains than any city in the world, other than Rome. The city, a metropolitan area of more than 2 million people, has some of the best public school districts in the nation.

Postdoctoral Fellowships

Child/Pediatric Postdoctoral Two-year Fellowship for 2023-2025.
The Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition is delighted to offer 3 two-year postdoctoral fellowships for the 2023-2025 cycle broadly focused on pediatric healthy lifestyles. Applicants will be accepted from the fields of Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, Public Health, Psychology, Physiology or related fields to work with our multidisciplinary team. This position is fully research, with hours toward licensure only available after specific negotiation when relevant. All applicants must have completed all requirements for their doctoral degree prior to beginning the fellowship. The positions’ start date is expected to begin in the summer/fall of 2023 but is negotiable, and salary will follow current NIH guidance. Click HERE to APPLY!!!
Students/Interns

If you are interested in an internship at the Center and would like to apply, you can click here on the Application Survey. If you have been accepted for a position at the Center, please complete this Welcome Survey at your earliest opportunity. We look forward to having you on our team!
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track)

Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS. To apply, click HERE.

Become a Center Member

As a member of the Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition (Full, Associate or Affiliate), you are eligible for certain supports and opportunities. Apply Here!

Below are some of the benefits offered for approved center members:

Noon Meetings

The Center offers meetings over the noon hour several times per month. Some of these meetings are didactic and include visiting speakers or journal club presentations. Others are more discussion based, focused on preparing for an upcoming scientific meeting or preparing for an upcoming grant deadline. As a Center member you will automatically be notified of these events.
Annual CHLN Grants

Once a year the Center will call for proposals related to healthy lifestyles & nutrition, with funding typically around $30,000, and one grant per year. As a Center member you will automatically be notified when these grants are announced.
Space

Would you like a tour of the Center? Or, would you like to perhaps use space here for your program or project? There is a space request form on the website – simply fill that out and we can show you around and see if we can meet your needs.s.
GRA Scientific Support

Are you writing a paper or grant related to our mission and need some help from a qualified Graduate Research Assistant? The Center employs two GRAs per year to help support cross-site KUMC/CMH research, focused on papers, conference submissions and grants.
Activity Monitor Loan Program

We have a small number of ActiTrac activity monitors, chargers, belts, as well as compatible software. We are happy to loan these to you for CHLN related projects that qualify.

Video Cameras

We have two digital video cameras, charges, cases, and tripods that you may use for CHLN related projects that qualify.
Endnote Formatting

Are you submitting a CHLN related paper or chapter with authors from KUMC and CMH? If so, we may be able to provide you with support for your bibliography using Endnote.
Student Registration Support

Do you have a student who will be working with you on your Center-related work? If so, we are happy to help you get the student officially in the system at KUMC or CMH, including getting them a badge, email, keys, access to the EMR, etc. depending upon your research needs.
GRA Travel

The Center will fund up to 10 $500 awards per fiscal year to support travel for Graduate Research Assistants to present scholarly presentations at regional, national or international conferences.
IRB Help

Do you need help with your Center-related IRB submission at KUMC and/or CMH? If so, we have two wonderful Clinical Trials Coordinators who can assist you with your submission.

Getting Involved with the Center

Kansas City’s Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition represents an extension of the committed collaboration in the area of pediatric obesity research between two neighboring institutions who serve the health needs of children across the bi-state region of Missouri and Kansas. The Center has several different engagement opportunities including: volunteer, undergraduate student, graduate student, post-doctoral, internships, and employment opportunities.

Volunteer Opportunities

Are you passionate about helping kids and families live healthier lives? You can give of your time to help the Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition with its family nutrition classes, exercise programs, kids marathon and community-wide healthy lifestyles initiative. The Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition relies on volunteer support for many of our programs. Below are descriptions of community opportunities to become involved with our work:

Promoting Health In Teens and Kids (PHIT Kids) Group Program

The PHIT Kids evening group is a 12-week program which provides education to help families and youth aged 9-18 with obesity to learn about, adopt, and maintain a healthy, active lifestyle through nutrition, physical activity, and behavioral changes. Volunteers assist with preparing food, cleaning the kitchen, and assisting children with games and activities. The PHIT Kids program receives support from the Junior League of Kansas City. Please contact Julie Vandal, RD, LD, lead education coordinator at 816-234-9231, if you are interested in volunteering with this program.
Healthy Hawks

Healthy Hawks is a group-based program that works with inner-city families from around Kansas City to teach them healthier lifestyles. Volunteers commit to participate for the full 12 weeks, and groups are typically held for 2 hours on Monday evenings in Wyandotte county. Volunteers help by working with the children, motivating parents, leading or participating in physical activity, and preparing materials and lessons for the groups. If you are interested in volunteering for the Healthy Hawks program, you may do so through their website: www.healthyhawks.kumc.edu.
Zoom to Health

Zoom to Health is a 6-week family based program that targets children ages 2-8 years who are overweight and their families. The entire family participates in eating a healthy meal together followed by fun games, nutrition lessons, and physical activities for the children and nutrition and parenting skills lessons for the parents. Volunteers assist with preparing food, cleaning the kitchen, and assisting children with games and activities. Zoom to Health receives volunteer support from the Junior League of Kansas City. Please contact Julie Vandal at 816-234-9231 for more details on this volunteer opportunity.

Would you like to contribute?

Please contact the Philanthropy team at Children’s Mercy, 816-346-1300, or KU Medical Center Endowment, 913-562-2721.

Our Building

The Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition is located on the first floor of the Donald Chisholm Building on the campus of Children’s Mercy Kansas City. The Center is a 14,000-square-foot facility designed to support clinical and bench research, individual clinical and group educational interventions, as well as offices for faculty and research staff.

800-Square- Foot Demonstration Kitchen

500-Square-Foot Wet Lab

-80° Degree Freezer

2400-Square-Foot Exercise Facility

The Center’s 800-square-foot demonstration kitchen features four prep stations, each with a GE Profile refrigerator and microwave. The kitchen contains four oven/stove/exhaust hood combinations and two dishwashers. The 500-square-foot wet lab features extensive countertop space, an exhaust hood and a -80 degree freezer. Testing rooms contain an indirect calorimeter, treadmill and DEXA. Clinical exam rooms and a waiting room are also available. The Center’s 2400-square-foot exercise facility features treadmills, stationary bicycles, elliptical trainers and weight machines, and has a large area for group physical activity. Locker rooms, showers and laundry facilities are also available. The Center provides conference room facilities for 10-50 attendees.

Please read our Center Use Guidelines. If you are interested in using space at the Center, please complete this application. Once it’s submitted, it will be reviewed by the leadership team, and someone will respond within 10 business days.

Space Request Form