BINGHAMTON, NY – Binghamton University will host a research conference titled, “New Thoughts About Causes, Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Obesity,” on Friday, Apr. 27, and Saturday, Apr. 28, at the Riverwalk Hotel and Conference Center, 225 Water Street in Binghamton. The conference is the result of eight months of intensive planning by a dedicated team of researchers and professionals led by conference co-directors Allison Alden, director of Binghamton University’s center for Civic Engagement, and Susan Terwilliger, clinical associate professor of the Decker School of Nursing.

The conference will provide a venue for scholars, service practitioners and health professionals who study and address the incidence of obesity in children, to share their knowledge from the perspective of their respective disciplines. The goal is to help all participants arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of childhood obesity and its important implications so that they are better able to collaborate on developing community-based solutions.

The two-day symposium will include fourteen invited speakers, two poster sessions, a panel of local service providers, and breakout session to discuss specific topics and challenges in greater depth. The speakers are all experts on childhood obesity and drawn from a number of SUNY campuses, as well as national, regional, and local organizations, colleges and universities. While the presenters will focus on their research and practice related to childhood obesity, the research poster sessions will cover a wide variety of biomedical and community topics.

This event is sponsored by Binghamton University, the Conversations in the Disciplines Program of the State University of New York, the Binghamton Biomedical Research Group, Upstate Medical University, United Health Services, Lourdes Hospital, Broome County Health Department, Guthrie Health System, the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science of the New York Academy of Sciences, and the Clinical Science and Engineering Research Center (CSERC).

For more information, visit http://www2.binghamton.edu/cce/conference/ or contact Center for Civic Engagement Director Allison Alden at (607) 777-3083.