TCU's Department of Kinesiology hosted lecture on obesity research

Fort Worth, TX

3/13/2007

Dr. Thomas W. Gettys, professor and chief of the Division of Experimental Obesity at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Center, was the 2007 Kinesiology Green Honors Chair lecturer. Dr. Gettys conducted a public lecture in the spring of 2007, which also included a dinner and reception.

"We were not only honored to have someone of Dr. Gettys' stature as a scientist and scholar visit our campus, but thrilled to have him share his enthusiasm and genuine excitement in science with our TCU community," said Dr. Melody Phillips, assistant professor of kinesiology at TCU. "The work he does is quite contemporary and of great significance given the serious consequences of obesity in our and other countries."

An expert in the area of nutrition, adipose tissue and obesity, Dr. Gettys' research focuses on the communication networks, which regulate the metabolic and endocrine functions of adipose tissue, with special emphasis on identifying nutritional and pharmaceutical interventions that produce health benefits by limiting fat deposition. He earned his degrees from Clemson University (MS, nutrition; PhD, nutrition/physiology). After post-doctoral training at Vanderbilt and Duke, he was appointed assistant professor of medicine at Duke Medical Center in 1990, rising through the ranks to professor of medicine and biochemistry & molecular biology at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2000.

The faculty of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center is devoted to the study of the nutritional basis of disease and the Center is recognized as a world leader for its work in this area. The Experimental Obesity Division, led by Dr. Gettys, is devoted to understanding the regulatory systems and communication networks which control energy balance. A common theme within this division is the use of genetically modified animal models to explore how specific genes affect the components of energy balance and the development of obesity.

For more information and to RSVP, contact 817-257-7665 or e.pettijohn@tcu.edu.


Media contact:
Shawn Kornegay
Asst. director of communications
817-257-5061
s.korngeay@tcu.edu