Ann Kenworthy joins NAASO on September 9th as the Interim Executive Director. Ann is a Certified Association Executive with more than 20 years=92 executive level experience in associations, foundations and association foundations. She serves as an interim executive director for associations and association foundations desiring to maximize their board, staff and program effectiveness, revenue, and relevance to members during times of organizational transition. Prior to joining NAASO, she served as interim executive director at several healthcare- related professional societies.
Please join us in giving Ann a warm welcome. Ann can be reached via email at annk@naaso.org.

Ballots have been mailed to all NAASO Fellows and Regular members for election of NAASO leaders. The Nominating Committee has developed a slate of candidates for your consideraton. Short biographies from each candidate have been included for your reference.

Please return your vote in the envelope provided by October 3rd. Your signature must appear on the reverse side of the return envelope. Make your vote count.

New! Itinerary Planner Now Online
Plan your Annual Meeting visit with our special online Itinerary Planner. New this year! Plan your agenda ahead of time and download your schedule to your calendar or PDA. Use the Itinerary Planner to view all sessions, times, speakers, lecture titles and locations. Pick a Track or view by date. Mix and match between tracks to take full advantage of the Annual Meeting offerings.
Bonus - Access NAASO's Learning Center all year long
Annual Meeting attendees will be able to access content, increase CME, and relive meeting highlights. All year long, all online.

Letters of Invitation for Travel Visas
Citizens requiring a temporary travel Visa to enter Canada are sometimes asked to provide a letter of invitation. If you require a Letter of Invitation, please email your request to education@naaso.org Please provide the following information:

Hot Topic Abstract Due September 14
Don't delay. See the column to the right for full instructions.

Register by September 19
Join your friends and colleagues in Vancouver, October 15 - 19, for the largest obesity conference in North America. Register by September 19 for cost saving discounts.

NAASO at Night
Schedule your Vancouver arrival to participate in these NAASO activities:
Saturday, October 15, 6:00 PM
Opening Session: President's Lecture
Officially kick-off the opening of the 2005 NAASO Annual Meeting with NAASO President, Dr. Louis J. Aronne and guests.

Opening Reception
All attendees and exhibitors are invited to a reception in the Exhibit Hall immediately following the Opening Session. Here is a perfect setting to meet and greet your friends and colleagues.

Monday, October 17, 2005
NAASO Gala, 7:30 - Midnight
Rock the night away with live music rom Vancouver's own Timebenders. Purchase your ticket ahead of time upon registration or on-site. Tickets are $65 per person and include dinner. Your group can purchase an entire table by calling Wyndham Jade at 888.241.8504 (U.S./Canada) or 972.349.7485 (International).

Congratulations to the five Ethan Sims Young Investigator Award finalists. Each finalist will present at a special Annual Meeting Session, Tuesday, October 18, 2005, 8:00 - 9:30 am. The five finalists are:

Bart M. De Taeye, PhD
Macrophage-derived PAI-1 Influences the Development of Obesity
Mentor: =09Douglas E. Vaughan, MD

Gregory J. Morton, PhD
Key Role for Hypothalamic PI3K in the Leptin Regulation of Insulin Sensitivity
Mentor:=09Michael W. Schwartz, MD

Daniela Cota, MD
Mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) and Branched-chain Amino Acids: Role in the Hypothalamic Circuits Regulating Energy Balance
Mentor:Randy J. Seeley, PhD

Jean-Phillippe Chaput, MSc
Short Sleep Duration is Associated with Reduced Leptin Levels and Increased Body Weight: Results from the Quebec Family Study
Mentor:=09Angelo Tremblay, PhD

Tanja VE Kral, PhD
Associations Between Reported Daily Energy Density, Food, and Energy Intake Over 4 Years in Children Born at Low- or High-risk for Obesity
Mentor:=09Myles S. Faith, PhD

Each finalist will receive up to $1,000 for annual meeting expenses. The winner will recieve an additional $1,000 cash prize. Congratulations!

Three special luncheon/meeting events will be held simultaneously on Sunday, October 16, 12:45 pm - 2:00 pm.

Clinical Management of Obesity Roundtable
Chair: Robert Kushner, MD
Beyond the Basics =96 A Collaborative Approach to Challenging Cases of Child and Adolescent Obesity
Speakers: Jeffrey B. Schwimmer, MD and =09=09 Melinda S. Sothern, PhD, CEP

The Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellows Roundtable
Chair: Terry T. Huang, PhD, MPH
Join your colleagues for lunch and socializing followed by an informal meeting of NAASO members who are past the doctoral level and currently hold positions at the staff scientist or assistant professor (or industry/public sector equivalent) level and who are interested in establishing a research-based network group with goal of furthering their professional success.

NAASO Task Force on Women and Minorities Roundtable
Chair: Jose Fernandez, PhD
Facing the Challenges of Researching Minority Populations

Plan now to joing your colleagues and friends at one of the special luncheon meetings. No reservation required. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.

The Pediatric Obesity Interest Group (POIG) will hold its annual meeting in Vancouver on Monday, October 17, 12:45 - 3:00 pm, Crystal Ballroom B/C - Pan Pacific Hotel.

Chair: Jeffrey B. Schwimmer, MD
12:45 p.m. =96 2:00 p.m. Lunch and Business Meeting
2:00 =96 3:00 Symposium: Case Studies in Collaboration: Working Together in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
Speakers: Kate Steinbeck, PhD, FRACP: On Common Ground =96 Planning Trials of Childhood Obesity Interventions
=09 Russell Pate, PhD: TAAG You Are It =96 Activating Cooperative Interventions

West
California
Judith Stern reports
Sean H. Adams, Ph.D. (formerly Senior Scientific Investigator, Amylin Pharmaceuticals) has become a Research Physiologist at the USDA Western Human Nutrition Research Center at UC Davis, starting work in July. His lab will focus on questions related to obesity, metabolism, and adipocyte biology.
Marjorie Freedman has accepted a position as Assistant Professor, in the Nutrition and Food Science Department, at San Jose State University. Her research will focus on community interventions to combat childhood obesity.
Heather Holt, a student member of NAASO, graduated from California State University, Fullerton in May with a BS in Health Science and minor in Kinesiology. She is currently enjoying her summer while researching MPH programs and serving as the student representative on the local planning committee for the American School Health Association's annual conference.
This 2005-2006 academic year, Judith Stern will be spending time =93commuting=94 from California to Iowa. She has been named the Hilton Chair Visiting Professor at Iowa State=92s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. Thank you Diane F. Birt (Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Research on Botanical Dietary Supplements) for making this possible.

Colorado
Melina B. Jampolis, M.D. (physician nutrition specialist from Amarna Medical Wellness Center, Inc.) is hosting a new TV Show on Discovery Network=92s FIT TV called =93Fit TV=92s Diet Doctor=94 profiling 10 popular diets. Her approach is to put one person on the diet. She gives diet and exercise tips throughout the show. It began airing in late June. Episodes of the show will continue repeating through the remainder of the year. For more information visit www.fittv.com.
Ruth Lytle-Barnaby reports that the Coalition for Activity and Nutrition to Defeat Obesity (CanDo) received a $5000 grant from the Western Dairy Council. Funds will be used to develop, implement, and evaluate a 4-week nutrition and physical activity program called Food and Fitness Adventures.

Oregon
Congratulations to Roger Cone, (Senior Scientist, Vollum Institute and Director of the Center for the Study of Weight Regulation). Roger was awarded the =932005 Bristol-Myers Squibb Freedom to Discover Unrestricted Biomedical Research Grant=94 to support his research on the physiology and pharmacology of body weight regulation in the neuroendocrine system.

Washington
Anne McTiernan (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington) was awarded a five year NCI grant - the Nutrition & Exercise for Women (NEW) Study.
Michael W Schwartz reports that two former fellows, Greg Morton and Rick Gelling, have been promoted to Assistant Professor and Acting Instructor, respectively, in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition. Congratulations to both doctors. Also, Greg Morton gave a symposium lecture at the Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.
Congratulations to Ellen Schur, M.D. (Acting Instructor from the Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine) who received a K23 grant award from the NIDDK entitled =93An interdisciplinary investigation of eating behavior in twins.=94
Michael W Schwartz was the Marshack Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and was a featured speaker at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Japan Endocrine Society in Tokyo in July.

Southwest
Bob Ferraro writes
On October 1, 2005, Elizabeth Parks will move from the University of Minnesota to take a position as Associate Professor in the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Canada by Paul Boisvert
Merck Frosst Canada Ltd., the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Laval University, and H=F4pital Laval announced a $2.2 million investment in the Merck Frosst / CIHR Research Chair on Obesity. The Chair is held by Prof. Denis Richard, also director of Laval Hospital=92s Research Centre.