NAASO's new distinguished scholar lecture program features NAASO members presenting obesity-related topics at grand rounds lectures at medical schools and medical centers. NAASO will provide scheduling support and each participating institution will receive a stipend to help defray lecture-related expenses.

If your institution is interested in this obesity-related grand rounds program, contact the NAASO Education Department at 301.563.6526 or email, education@naaso.org. Priority will be given to general or specialty grand rounds presentations directed toward primary care physicians (general medicine, internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics) and related specialty practice areas (endocrinology, general surgery, and cardiology).

The grand rounds lectures in this initial series must take place prior to December 31, 2004. Support for this activity has been provided by Sanofi- Synthelabo, Inc.

Register Soon for Early-Bird Discounts
Make your plans to attend the NAASO Annual Scientific Meeting, November 14 - 18, Las Vegas. NAASO Members receive a substantial discount on Annual Meeting Registration. Register by August 18 to take advantage of early bird savings. Join us at the well-appointed but affordable Caesar's Palace. Annual Meeting room rates are reasonably priced at $169 per night.
Not a NAASO Member? Now is a good time to join. Contact membership@naaso.org or call the NAASO office at 301.563.6526.

Join a Growing List of Exhibitors
Join us in Las Vegas and showcase your company's services and products to qualified obesity professionals. A list of current exhibitors is available online. Contact Tricia Cavallo for more information and to reserve your booth space.

Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities
Put your company's name in front of more than 1,800 obesity experts!
A wide variety of sponsorship opportunities are available. For a more detailed list of opportunities available, visit our Sponsorship webpage or contact Margaret Castillo. Applications to hold a corporate sponsored symposium are due by August 13, 2004.

NAASO Gala
When registering for Annual Meeting, don't forget to reserve your ticket to the NAASO Gala, Tuesday, November 16th. Tickets are $65 per person. Join your colleagues and friends for a musical tribute covering several decades. Come dressed in clothing representing your own favorite decade of music.

Book Reviewers Needed
If you have read an interesting obesity-related book and would like to share your reaction in this newsletter, we are interested in hearing from you. The recent Trim Kids book review, appearing in the June 04 newsletter, received signifcant traffic. Book reviewers must be NAASO members. If you would like to participate, please contact Dr. Patrick O'Neil, Web Editor.

Member Forums
Here is a great opportunity to test your ideas, pose questions, and offer solutions. NAASO has provided an outstanding vehicle to exchange and share information quickly and informally, with instant feedback and results.
Subscribe today to participate in a Forum of your choice.
Log on and begin your own discussion.

Funding Opportunities
Visit our Funding Opportunities Webpage often to view new postings. New announcements include:

• Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer
• Understanding Mechanisms Of Health Risk Behavior Change In Children and Adolescents
• Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Obesity In Primary Care Settings

Looking for Out-of-Print Obesity Research Issues
The NAASO office is running low on several older Obesity Research issues. Check your bookshelves and files. NAASO would like to archive several complete Obesity Research sets and we are in need of the following issues:

• Volume 3, Supplement 5, Dec 1995
• Volume 4, Supplement 1, Oct 1996
• Volume 6, Number 6, Nov 1998
• Volume 7, Number 1, Jan 1999

East
Kathleen Keller reports that June Stevens and Penny Gordon-Larsen from the Nutrition Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill participaged in the NHLBI Workshop on Predictors of Obesity, Weight Gain, Diet, and Physical Activity, August 2004.

Nellie Wixom, RD, Program Director of the Nutrition/Weight Management Center, University of Rochester, announces the 3rd Annual Northeast Regional Obesity Symposium entitled "The Obesity Epidemic: Current Findings and Practical Approaches," October 7 - 8, 2004. The conference is presented by the Nutrition/Weight Management Center, University of Rochester, School of Nursing. Call 585-275-1630 for more information.

Mexico
Jorge Gonzalez-Barranco reports that during the first week of July, the International Symposium on Obesity was held in Monterrey, Mexico. 500 physicians attended this meeting. Joining the Mexican delegates were several outstanding US scientists including Eric Ravussin, Anthony Comuzzie, and Raul Bastarrachea-Sosa.

The West
Judith Stern writes, "Thank you all for your contributions to the August Notes. Our goal is to get information from every state in the west. We would like to include information from Nevada and Utah in our September notes. Please help."
Alaska
The University of Alaska at Fairbanks has an NIH COBRE Grant entitled "Obesity, Cardiovascular Disease, and Diabetes Among Yup'ik Eskimos" (Gerald V. Mohatt, Director and PI). Bert Boyer is Project PI of the Genetics Project and Scarlett Hutchison is a field researcher. Bret Luick, PI of the Nutrition Project is spending his sabbatical at University of California at Davis. Two NAASO members on the Center's advisory board include David Allison (University of Alabama) and Judith Stern (University of California, Davis).

California
NAASO fellow Thomas Robinson has been appointed the Director of the new Center for Healthy Weight at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford (LPCH) and the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Colorado
Chris Bell, a post doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Doug Seals at the University of Colorado will join the faculty at Colorado State University as an Assistant Professor effective January 1, 2005. Art Campfield from Colorado State University writes about Program ENERGY: Obesity and Diabetes Prevention in Elementary School Children and their Families (Program Director, Francoise Smith). www.programenergy.org is funded by the National Center for Research Resource, National Institutes of Health. ENERGY is an integrated science education enrichment program established to reduce the rate of obesity and type 2 diabetes in elementary school students.

Hawaii
Ann M. Pobutsky, Chronic Disease Epidemiologist in the Hawaii State Department of Health, is part of a project that is currently analyzing data from all children who entered public schools in 2002-2003 who had accurate data for height, weight, sex and age. Hawaii's 4 & 5 year olds entering public schools tend to be shorter and larger than the CDC 2000 reference population. If you want to know more about this project, contact Ann at pobutsky@hawaii.edu

Oregon
John Purnell, of Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) has received a five year RO1 grant from NIH/NIDDK entitled "Regulation of coritsol metabolism and fat patterning." He was also named director of the Bionutritional Unit and Body Energy and Composition Core for the OHSU General Clinical Research Center and promoted to Associate Professor. Congratulations John! Two other R01's just got funded as well: Roger Cone (PI) - "Melanocortin Signaling in Feeding Behavior," and Daniel Marks, (PI) (in addition to his K08!) - "Hypothalamic Mechanisms in Cachexia" We look forward to updates about these exciting areas of research!

Washington
Megan McCrory, formerly of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, will be joining the faculty of the School of Nutrition and Exercise Science at Bastyr University in Seattle. Dr. McCrory will be continuing her research in the area of dietary composition and obesity. Michael Schwartz is pleased to welcome Diana Williams to his research laboratory for her post doctoral training. Her research will focus on integration of forebrain and hindbrain controls of food intake and energy homeostasis.