Dr. Kartik Shankar recently joined the Department of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition. Prior to his appointment at CU Anschutz, Kartik was a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Associate Director at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center. Research in his laboratory is aimed at understanding how maternal obesity, diet and life-style in the peri-conceptional period influence long-term health of the offspring. Specifically, his current studies are focused on understanding the epigenomic and non-genetic transmissible factors (such as the microbiome) contributing to intergenerational transmission of obesity risk in a translational fashion. These studies leverage basic animal models in conjunction with longitudinal prospective clinical studies in mothers and infants