Old Dominion University (ODU) in Hampton Roads, Virginia, has announced a $15 million gift from Joan Brock to expand the curriculum of the university’s medical and health education programs.
The award will establish the Joan P. Brock Institute for Nutrition Science and Health, which will serve as a multidisciplinary hub that integrates nutrition and lifestyle medicine with medical and health education, basic science and translational research, clinical innovation and community health. The institute will be part of ODU’s Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, renamed for Brock and her husband following a $20 million donation in 2024. A graduate program in nutrition will accept its students in the fall of 2026. A metabolic kitchen—designed to research and analyze meal nutrition—will support education, research, and community initiatives.
According to the university, Joan Brock’s support of nutritional health medicine is inspired by her personal experience battling life-threatening illnesses that she navigated with sound nutrition and improved lifestyle habits…