UGA hosts Obesity, Imaging and Musculoskeletal Health Conference

The University of Georgia Obesity initiative hosted a conference titled “Obesity, Imaging and Musculoskeletal Health” on June 12, 2014. The meeting featured guest speakers from industry and academia, who addressed the use of high-resolution imaging techniques to better understand the relationships between obesity and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, low skeletal strength and poor muscle function.

Guest speakers started the day with a small group tour of UGA’s Bioimaging Research Center led by the center’s director, L. Stephen Miller. Immediately afterward, speakers met with a select group of UGA faculty, students and staff to discuss bone, muscle and fat imaging.

Guest speakers:

Christopher M. Modlesky, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology & Physiology, College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware

Timothy R. Nagy, Professor, Department of Nutrition Sciences, School of Health Professions & Director, Animal Physiology Core, Diabetes Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Mark Punyanitya, President and CEO, Image Reading Center, Inc., New York, NY.

University of Georgia student speakers:

Joseph Kindler, Department of Foods & Nutrition, College of Family & Consumer Sciences

Qingying Meng, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Franklin College of Arts & Sciences

Hui-Ju Young, Department of Kinesiology, College of Education

This multi-institutional conference included attendees from Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Regents University, Georgia Regents University / University of Georgia Medical Partnership, Morehouse School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Georgia.

BIRC sponsored the conference along with UGA’s Office of the President, Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Office of the Vice President for Research and Georgia Regents University’s Institute for Regenerative and Reparative Medicine.