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< Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention

Programs and Services of the Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention

The Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention (CCOP) at the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI) advances pediatric obesity research through integrated biomedical discovery, biostatistics, metabolism and bioenergetics, and community engagement. Building on successful COBRE Phases 1 and 2, CCOP supports innovative and multidisciplinary research aimed at understanding, preventing, and treating childhood obesity and related metabolic disorders.

CCOP provides research infrastructure, mentoring, pilot funding, and specialized scientific core services that support investigators across the translational research spectrum from mechanistic discovery to clinical and community implementation.

The CCOP Pilot Project Program supports early-stage investigators and established investigators entering the field of pediatric obesity research. Pilot projects receive funding, mentoring, and access to CCOP core resources to promote the development of competitive and sustainable research programs.

Projects supported through CCOP span:

  • Basic and mechanistic science
  • Clinical and translational research
  • Maternal and child health
  • Nutrition and physical activity
  • Community-engaged and implementation science
  • Population and behavioral health research

Investigators also receive guidance in grant development, study design, statistical analysis, scientific writing, and career development. 


Biostatistics Core

The Biostatistics Core serves as the methodological backbone of CCOP. Biostatisticians are integrated as team scientists throughout the full research lifecycle, including study design, data management, statistical analysis, interpretation, and dissemination.

The Core provides support for:

  • Study design and power analysis
  • Statistical analysis
  • Data management and informatics
  • Grant development
  • Manuscript preparation
  • Investigator education and mentoring

The Biostatistics Core operates through a collaborative and sustainable partnership between UAMS and ACRI.

Learn more about Biostatistics >

Metabolism and Bioenergetics Core

The Metabolism and Bioenergetics Core provides unique capabilities in preclinical and clinical metabolic phenotyping, stable isotope tracer methodologies, exercise physiology, and mitochondrial bioenergetics.

The Core supports multidisciplinary investigations related to:

  • Pediatric obesity
  • Cardiometabolic health
  • Maternal-child health
  • Energy metabolism and substrate utilization

The MBC bridges basic and translational science and supports investigators across Arkansas and beyond.

Forms:

Community Engagement Core

The Community Engagement Core promotes meaningful collaboration between researchers, participants, and communities throughout all stages of the research process.

The Core supports:

  • Community-engaged research 
  • Stakeholder advisory boards
  • Participant recruitment and retention
  • Dissemination and implementation activities
  • Translation of research findings into real-world settings

The CEC helps ensure that CCOP-supported research remains relevant, equitable, and impactful for children and families across Arkansas.

Learn more about The LINK >

CCOP supports investigator development through structured mentoring, pilot funding, scientific collaboration, and integrated core support.

Investigators receive guidance in:

  • Research design and methodology
  • Grant writing and career development
  • Scientific communication
  • Team science and collaboration
  • Community engagement strategies

CCOP also promotes career development through seminars, workshops, collaborative networking opportunities, and structured mentoring activities.

The CCOP Scholarly Writing Program supports investigator productivity through structured writing support and mentoring.

Program offerings include:

  • Facilitated writing groups
  • Accountability-based writing sessions
  • Peer feedback opportunities
  • Manuscript development support

The program promotes sustainable writing habits and supports long-term investigator development and research productivity.

Across COBRE Phases 1 and 2, CCOP has:

  • Supported the development of independent investigators
  • Established integrated research core infrastructure

CCOP investigators have

  • Published more than 530 peer-reviewed publications
  • Achieved more than 25 NIH awards

These efforts have strengthened obesity research capacity at ACRI and across Arkansas and advanced multidisciplinary approaches to pediatric obesity prevention and treatment.

Collaborations and Partnerships

CCOP collaborates with investigators and partners across Arkansas Children’s, ACRI, UAMS, the University of Arkansas System, and community organizations throughout the state. Through these collaborations, CCOP supports multidisciplinary and translational research focused on improving child health outcomes in Arkansas and beyond.

The Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention

The Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention is supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM109096. The content of this website and research reported in publications resulting from work performed under this Award are solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

11 Children's Way
Little Rock, AR 72202

501-364-5113

CCOP@uams.edu