UND to dedicate Behavioral Research Center The public is invited to the Northern Plains Center for Behavioral Research building dedication at the University of North Dakota. The event is set for 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, at the new center, 400 Oxford St., just south of the College of Nursing building on the UND campus. The $4-million Center for Behavioral Research is an interdisciplinary research facility that will address critical, unmet national public health needs. It will be used by nursing and psychology faculty members to explore human conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, alcoholism, diabetes, nutritional disorders and others by helping patients alter their behaviors. "The Northern Plains Center for Behavioral Research, the next in a series of three brand-new research centers being unveiled on our campus this year, will be a shining example of what happens when world-class scholars, representing diverse research backgrounds, such as nursing and psychology, work side by side under one roof to solve important questions about nutrition, addiction and human behavior," said UND President Robert Kelley. "Like the new National Center for Hydrogen Technology, which was recently dedicated on our campus, and the Center of Excellence in Life Sciences and Advanced Technology, which officially will open its doors later this year, the Behavioral Research Center greatly enhances UND's capacity to conduct cutting-edge research and to develop innovative answers to scientific questions that directly impact the people of North Dakota, the United States and the world." Some of the biggest obstacles to improving health care revolve around behavior, including life-style issues, nutrition and other habits such as smoking and lack of exercise. This center will promote research in both nursing and psychology that can improve the health and quality of life for many people. The center also will allow UND, through its Colleges, to attract more research funding in the future and build on currently existing research capacity. "The Northern Plains Center for Behavioral Research will provide the state-of-the-art space needed to conduct interdisciplinary research in key areas such as preventive health, nutrition, mental health, and chronic disease management,” states Loretta Heuer, nursing researcher. “This research space will be instrumental in assisting dedicated faculty and students to pursue the Colleges’ commitment to improving health and preventing disease both statewide and nationally.” -- Becky Cournia, Alumni & Development Officer, Nursing, beckycournia@mail.und.edu, 777-4526