UNC Greensboro Commits to Supporting Food Research Efforts at N.C. Research Campus

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The University of North Carolina at Greensboro will commit two senior research professors and their staffs to the North Carolina Research Campus as part of food research efforts there, UNCG said Friday.

UNCG said it would join other universities in efforts at the UNC Nutrition Research Building. The UNCG effort will require some 5,000 square feet of space.

The staffs will be part of the new UNCG Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive Food Components.

The Research Campus was created by billionaire David Murdock, the owner of Dole Food and Castle & Cook, the development firm that is constructing the campus on the site of a former textile mill.

“By bringing together some of the brightest minds in the field with the latest advances in technology, the NCRC promises to make North Carolina a worldwide leader in nutrition research,” said Rosemary Wander, UNCG’s associate provost for research and public/private partnerships. “In particular, UNCG’s work will expand our understanding of nutrition’s fundamental processes, helping people live longer, healthier lives.”

Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. A&T, N.C. Central, and UNC-Charlotte will also have researchers at the facility.

“The NCRC will be home to groundbreaking nutrition research projects,” said Debbie Kipp, chair of UNCG’s Department of Nutrition. “With so many prominent scientists from so many institutions located together in outstanding research facilities, the opportunities for collaboration and innovation will be limitless.”

UNCG efforts will focus on:

• curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric, fights colon cancer

• overexposure to manganese causes Parkinson’s-like symptoms

• imbalances in iron and the hormone prolactin affect bone density

To date, UNCG has received $600,000 in funding for the project. It will receive $1.8 million in 2008 and recurring revenues of $1.5 million thereafter.