The lab overseen by Sebastien Bouret, PhD, is part of the Neuroscience program at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital. He is an assistant professor of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

"One theory explaining obesity is called perinatal programming," said Dr. Bouret. "Perinatal programming refers to the effect of specific events, that occur during gestation and soon after birth, on lifelong health. Nutrition during pregnancy appears to have an important impact on obesity, with both maternal obesity and maternal malnutrition increasing the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes in babies born to these mothers."

Dr. Brent Polk, director of The Saban Research Institute and chair of the Department of Pediatrics said, "On behalf of the Department of Pediatrics and The Saban Research Institute, I congratulate Drs. Mittelman, Mascarenhas and Bouret on this important recognition of their respective contributions to pediatric oncology and obesity, two devastating conditions affecting children today. Their acknowledgement, by membership in the Society for Pediatric Research, also underlines the quality of overall research we are doing in pediatrics at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California."

Source: Children's Hospital Los Angeles