COBRE in Nutrition and Women's Health - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – OVERALL COMPONENT Great advances have been made in improving health in the US, but substantial gender disparities remain. Compared to men, women are more likely to be obese and are at greater risk of physical disabilities. Excessive weight gain during pregnancy and the physiological and physical demands of pregnancy and lactation lead many women to accrue substantial body fat while experiencing a variety of nutrient deficiencies, reproductive- related diseases, and mental health challenges. These and other health disparities are even greater in margin- alized populations, particularly those with inadequate healthcare and/or living in poverty – a situation common in Idaho. Much of Idaho is characterized as ‘frontier and remote’ due to sparce population and poor access to basic goods and service. Idaho has the fewest physicians per capita of any state, and many Idahoans live in poverty and are food insecure. This ‘perfect storm’ puts vulnerable Idaho women at risk for even greater health disparities. There are complex factors driving these health inequities, but inadequate nutrition is one of the most interwoven, unifying themes. Our overarching goal is to develop an internationally recognized COBRE in Nutrition and Women’s Health at the University of Idaho. This COBRE will support a critical mass of feder- ally funded, multidisciplinary scientists who will contribute to knowledge of and improve evidence-based nutri- tional practices for women. Participating investigators and their students will study various aspects of nutrition and women’s health, particularly during critical periods of growth, development, and senescence. Studies will address situations characterized by limited resources and other environmental, physical, and identity-based challenges to health and wellbeing that often have nutritional underpinnings and consequences. We will build institutional capacity by harnessing, supporting, and expanding current strengths and expertise of faculty and facilities at the University of Idaho and the region. We will also aggressively recruit new faculty with comple- mentary research interests to join our synergistic team. We will accomplish our goals through three aims: 1) establish and administer a multi-component center in nutrition and women’s health that enables multidiscipli- nary research collaboration, 2) promote multidisciplinary synergistic research in nutrition and women’s health that propels junior faculty to research independence, and 3) expand the impact of this COBRE to increase sus- tainable, transdisciplinary research in and dissemination of knowledge in nutrition and women’s health at the University of Idaho and the state of Idaho. The proposed COBRE in Nutrition and Women’s Health is signifi- cant because it will create a culture of multi- and transdisciplinary collaboration and establish a nucleus of re- search excellence around our theme. This COBRE is innovative because it will be uniquely focused on nutri- tion and women’s health. This COBRE will be impactful through discoveries and advances in women’s health that will benefit all women, while particularly addressing those in underserved and marginalized populations. Our work in Idaho will have far reaching implications, as the state is similar to much of the rural, western US.
