The Nutrition and Wellness Research Center (NWRC) is ready to embark on a series of changes for the new year.
One of the biggest changes is the merging of the Center for Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition (CDFIN) and the NWRC. As one unit with locations on campus and at the Iowa State University Research Park, Dr. Diane Birt, Interim Director for CDFIN and NWRC, says the change will reflect positively on many aspects of the College of Human Sciences.
"I'd say within a year, the CDFIN name will be gone, and we will have the NWRC-Research Park and the NWRC-Campus locations," Birt said. "It takes time to convey the change to people, update the literature and get all the accounts changed."
The new Research Park location has also added staff members Teri Peterson as a program assistant and Stacy Ewing-Blount as an administrative specialist. Currently, the NWRC is looking for one more full-time person to work there and in a support role with the Center for Research on Botanical Dietary Supplements. A search for a full-time director for the NWRC is slated to begin by next fiscal year.
"The Dean has committed to starting a search for a new director in the fall," Birt said. "Before the search for a new director begins, we wanted to bring the two centers (CDFIN and NWRC) together, gain more University support and get programming kicked off."
Within the next few months, Birt said people can expect to see the CDFIN and NWRC web sites merged and increased activity at the Research Park location.
"A number of companies have talked about research projects that they want done at the new facility," Birt said. "I'm anticipating a lot of activity there. We also have opportunities for funding graduate students and purchasing new equipment for the NWRC."
Birt feels the more visible location in the Research Park, combined with increased community awareness, participation and University support, puts the NWRC in a prime position for exponential growth.
"Those in industry clearly see this; we are much more visible to them and that is a tremendous advancement," Birt said. "The work we do on diet, physical activity and health is much more visible under this structure. It brings together the expertise from all the critical disciplines. It is a holistic approach and very consistent with the College of Human Sciences. The other thing we are anticipating is that the community will have more of a sense of a wellness center where they can be involved in wellness research, be subjects and we can participate in community-type activities, all increasing our visibility in wellness. In the near term, we anticipate this will increase our funding from federal sources that focus on research in wellness."
With renewed funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) for the Center for Research on Botanical Dietary Supplements and the thrust of this center on improving dietary botanical supplements for human health benefit, there is also the long-term goal to work with human subjects on the study of botanical supplements at the NWRC.
The changes allow for Iowa State faculty, staff, students and alumni to work and learn collaboratively for the greater good.
"For faculty, we've always had some collaboration, but this is a place for this to occur with more of an emphasis on collaborative research," Birt said. "CDFIN always focused on that, and with NWRC it will be more of an area of physical activity, fitness, diet, foods and behavioral areas. Students and alumni who trained in this area can look back to their alma mater and say they came from Iowa State where there is a nationally recognized wellness program. It gives the program better visibility and recognition."
For more information on the Center for Research on Botanical Dietary Supplements, Nutrition and Wellness Research Center, or Center for Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition, contact Dr. Diane Birt at (515) 294-9873 or
dbirt@iastate.edu. For more information on the College of Human Sciences, visit
www.hs.iastate.edu/.
