New Balance chair will lead research to fight obesity

Childhood obesity has been a major topic in my department lately. Here is some material from the Tufts President:

On March 17th, Dr. Christina D. Economos, a Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy researcher who has received grants from the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control to address childhood nutrition and obesity, will be officially appointed to the New Balance Chair in Childhood Nutrition. The installation ceremony begins at 4:00 p.m. in the Behrakis Auditorium of the Jaharis Center on the Boston campus. A 1996 graduate of the Friedman School, Economos also is the associate director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Tufts.

The chair is part of a $5 million gift over the next 10 years from the New Balance Foundation, the charitable arm of the New Balance athletic shoe company. The foundation has partnered with the Friedman School to create a far-reaching initiative to combat childhood obesity and improve the long-term health of future generations.

As the New Balance Foundation's largest gift since its establishment in 1981, the Children in Balance Initiative endowed the New Balance Chair in Childhood Nutrition
and will also include endowed and dedicated graduate student fellowships. The initiative also provides core support at the Friedman School, which will allow for
new studies and interventions, and give researchers flexibility to respond to emerging trends and new opportunities. The initiative will stimulate investigations
among top scientists at Tufts, expand on the internationally recognized obesity expertise of the Friedman School and seed cross-disciplinary efforts
in obesity.

Congratulations, Christina!