The Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center (ACNC) is a cooperative effort of the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and Arkansas Children’s in collaboration with the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute and UAMS. Established in 1994 on the ACH campus, the ACNC is one of six National Human Nutrition Centers funded through the USDA-ARS and one of two centers to focus primarily on pediatric/maternal nutrition and metabolic health.
The mission of the ACNC is to conduct cutting-edge research to understand how maternal-child nutrition and physical activity optimize health and development. The ACNC uses state-of-the-art procedures, equipment, and facilities to determine how early-life exposures to a specific diet, dietary factors, physical activity, and other factors can affect physiology, The ACNC investigates a wide array of biological systems including brain development, skeletal health, adipose tissue development, gastrointestinal health, immune system development, cardiometabolic health, and whole-body metabolism. With approximately 54,000 ft2 of shared research space, the ACNC provides clinical research facilities, research laboratories, shared equipment, and core facilities designed for its team of over 75 scientists and support staff. ACNC investigators are also UAMS Department of Pediatrics faculty members within the section of Developmental Nutrition and receive funding beyond USDA-ARS, including NIH, non-profits, and industry partners. The ACNC also receives funding from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, which was created as the major research component of the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act of 2000.
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