The Program Committee for the 3rd annual USC Childhood Obesity Research Symposium invites submissions for oral presentations from trainees and junior investigators. The two-day symposium will feature one day of short presentations from trainees and junior faculty and one day of presentations from national leaders from diverse areas of expertise in the subject of childhood obesity.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Tom Baranowski (Baylor College of Medicine)
• Joel Elmquist (University of Texas Southwestern)
• Harold Goldstein (California Center for Public Health Advocacy)
• Marientina Gotsis (University of Southern California)
• Martin Myers (University of Michigan)
• Elizabeth Parks (University of Texas Southwestern)
• Antonio Rangel (California Institute of Technology)
• Jeffrey Schwimmer (University of California, San Diego)

• Students enrolled in a doctoral degree program
• Postdoctoral fellows
• Junior Faculty in the first two years of their appointment

The trainee research symposium and workshop is a new element of the conference, and is intended to bring together trainees from diverse disciplines working in childhood obesity. We welcome contributions from any aspect of childhood obesity research, including basic biology and mechanisms, behavior, genetic factors, intervention strategies, environment and policy. Up to 20 abstracts will be selected for inclusion based on scientific quality and selected to ensure a broad representation across the diverse disciplines of childhood obesity research. Travel awards will be available to support participation from trainees traveling from outside of Los Angeles, in the range of $500 to $1,000.

Submission of Abstracts

Abstract Form:
Abstracts are limited to 400 words and must include title, authors and institutions. The body of the abstract should generally conform to the following format: Background, Objective/ Hypothesis, Methods, Results and Conclusions. A current NIH style biosketch is also required. The abstract and biosketch should be bundled and submitted as 1 pdf file.

Submission Deadline:
Submit all abstracts via email to Lauren Cook at laurenco@usc.edu by March 1, 2010. On the subject line of the e-mail, put ABSTRACT, followed by last name of corresponding author. Faxed or mailed copies will not be accepted. Authors will be notified of decisions by March 20, 2010.

Oral Presentation:
Accepted abstracts will be presented in the workshop session on Thursday, April 15, 2010. This workshop will also include sessions designed to facilitate the advancement of research and career. Oral presentations will be 15 minutes in length, and a poster is not required.

Questions or meeting inquiries should be addressed to Lauren Cook at laurenco@usc.edu.

For more information about USC CORC and details of the symposium, please visit http://usc-corc.org/.