Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention accepting pilot study applications

By Fred Miller
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Nov. 3, 2017

Fast Facts:

CCOP announces opeing of application process for 2018 pilot study projects
Project periods are 12 months with a second 12-month period possible
CCOP research aimed at reducing Arkansas childhood obesity rates

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention at the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute in Little Rock has announced it is accepting research proposal applications for the 2018 Pilot Study program.

Letters of Intent are being accepted now through Dec. 4, said Judith Weber, CCOP director and professor of pediatrics at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Project periods are for 12 months and a second 12-month period can be applied for if needed and sufficient progress was made during the first project period.

The maximum direct cost budget per 12-month period is $40,000. Budgets may include up to 10 percent of direct costs for principal investigator salary support. Awarded projects will have a start date of September 2018. To read the full funding announcement, please visit our website:

http://www.archildrens.org/research/research-programs-and-centers/obesity-prevention.

CCOP’s multidisciplinary research team includes scientists from UAMS, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in partnership with Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. But Weber said researchers from any institution are eligible and welcome to apply for the 2018 Pilot Study program.

The Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention was established in 2016 with a $9.4 million National Institutes of Health Centers for Biomedical Research Excellence grant award. The grant is part of the National Center for Research Resources Institutional Development Award Program aimed at building research capacity in states that have historically low levels of NIH funding.

COBRE programs focus on the professional development of the nation's most promising junior investigators through targeted senior mentoring and investment in critical infrastructure improvements.

The mission of the Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention is to address the problem of childhood obesity through the funding and support of investigations from basic research and developmental inquiry to clinical studies and practical healthcare application.

CCOP’s immediate goal is to prevent the rise in Arkansas childhood obesity rates and reduce obesity rates significantly over the next ten years.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu

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