Posted on September 20, 2011

Oregon Health & Science University Receives $25 Million Gift to Launch Nutrition Institute

Oregon Health & Science University has announced a $25 million gift from Bob and Charlee Moore, founders of Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods, to establish an interdisciplinary nutrition and wellness institute.

The Bob and Charlee Moore Institute for Nutrition and Wellness at the OHSU School of Medicine will seek to address health problems caused by unhealthy eating and inadequate nutrition through cutting-edge research and community outreach. The gift also will be used to endow the Bob and Charlee Moore Chair for Nutrition and Wellness, whose yet-to-be-appointed occupant will spearhead university-led initiatives in science and policy.

Nutritionally linked health conditions, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, have risen sharply along with the advent of foods that are high in sugar and fat but low in nutritional value. To break this chain of "high-calorie malnutrition," the Moore Institute will work in five broad areas of research, clinical care, and education: childhood obesity; women's health and maternal/fetal medicine; epigenetics and the developmental origins of health and disease; community outreach and translation of research effective public programs; and graduate education and post-graduate training of physicians, nurses, dentists, and allied health professionals.

"Just as the healthy benefits of whole grain come from the way its individual components work together in the body, the strength of the Moore Institute will come from bringing everyone in the nutritional arena together under a set of common goals," said OHSU School of Medicine dean Mark Richardson. "Through this potent blend of basic science, clinical care, professional education, and community advocacy, the institute will become the epicenter of irrefutable evidence that will change how healthcare providers, policy makers, and the general public approach the subject of healthy eating."