Monfort Professor Shane Hentges will deliver a public talk this month on her work to untangle what drives obesity and anorexia. Her lecture, “The Brain and Why it is so Hard to Maintain Normal Body Weight” takes place March 24 at 4 p.m. in Clark A Room 202.
Hentges, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, studies the underlying neural causes of obesity and anorexia and the long-term consequences these disorders have on brain circuitry, as well as the development of tolerance to opiates used in pain management. “I see both of these areas as being part of huge societal problems in need of powerful interventions,” she said. “Basic science is key to the development of new medicines and treatments that are safe and effective—increased understanding leads to better health.”
Hentges was named a Monfort Professor in 2014, a two-year honor that provides $150,000 to support research programs, and used funds from the award to bring a method called CLARITY to campus, a powerful new technology that allows her lab to image through an intact brain at very high resolution—something CSU researchers have never before been able to do.
Monfort Family Foundation
The Monfort Family Foundation funds the professorship to support young faculty as they advance their careers through teaching and research. Each year, a committee chaired by the provost selects two faculty members as Monfort Professorship recipients. Monfort Professors retain this prestigious designation for two years and receive $75,000 each year to further their teaching and research.
“The Monfort professorship gives professors the opportunity to do experiments and build technologies that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do,” Hentges said. “It allows us to dream big.”
Free and open to the public
The event, which is free and open to the public, is hosted by the Monfort Excellence Fund and CSU’s Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President.
About the Lecture
What: Monfort Professor Lecture
When: 4 p.m. March 24
Where: Clark A Room 202
Who: Shane Hentges, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, will present a talk entitled, “The Brain and Why it is so Hard to Maintain Normal Body Weight.”
