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Eminent Researcher Named Co-Director of Bioactive Food Components Research Center

By Dan Nonte, University Relations

GREENSBORO, NC -- Dr. Wei Jia, one of the leading researchers studying herbal and traditional Chinese medicines, has been named co-director of UNCG's Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive Food Components.

Dr. Wei Jia

The center, a satellite of the UNCG Department of Nutrition, is based in Kannapolis at the North Carolina Research Campus. Dr. Debbie Kipp, chair of the Department of Nutrition, is the center's other co-director.

Jia's current research focuses on the identification and characterization of bioactive components from natural products and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that can affect common metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Since 2003, he has received research grants totaling more than $6 million.

Jia, whose appointment includes a faculty position in the Department of Nutrition, joins UNCG from Shanghai Jiao Tong University where he was a professor of natural medicines and vice dean of the university's pharmacy school. He also was a principal investigator at the university's Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, which focuses on drug discovery and development from herbal medicines and TCM.

"We are delighted and fortunate to have Dr. Jia joining our faculty," said UNCG Provost David Perrin. "He brings an international perspective to the UNCG Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive Food Components and alternative approaches to the study of human health and nutrition."

He has written more than 100 scientific papers, has delivered more than 30 invited lectures at conferences and institutes, and has supervised more than 24 master's and doctoral thesis projects. He is on the editorial boards of 10 scientific journals, most of them in the field of botanical drugs and natural medicines.

"Dr. Wei Jia's presence at the NCRC adds a new dimension to the strong program at UNCG in human health and nutrition and will contribute to our rapidly growing research enterprise in the sciences," said Dr. Rosemary Wander, UNCG's associate provost for research and public/private sector partnerships.

In addition to his duties at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Jia has been serving as director of the Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine and Systems Biology. Part of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the center explores the synergy between multi-component drug and food research.

Born in Wuxi, China, Jia pursued graduate studies in radiopharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Missouri-Columbia, earning a master's degree in 1991 and a doctorate in 1996. He earned an MBA from Australia's Greenwich University in 2002.

As chief scientist of China's Walfen Medical Co., Ltd., where he worked from 1999-2003, Jia developed a new drug to treat bone disorders. He has been involved as project leader and principle investigator in the development of a number of botanical drugs in China. He is currently an expert for the China State Food and Drug Administration on botanical drugs/TCM agent evaluation and coordinator of the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program on TCM.

Jia applies cutting-edge biochemical and analytical tools to better understand how multiple bioactive components from plants interact with the human body. Many of the components being studied are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

"My goal is to use modern scientific approaches to design multi-component agents derived from plants to treat complex disorders," Jia said. "By bringing together accomplished researchers from many disciplines and cultural backgrounds, the NCRC will provide an unprecedented opportunity for this type of holistic nutritional and pharmaceutical research. I look forward to working closely with my colleagues at the NCRC and UNCG."

For thousands of years, practitioners of TCM have combined multiple plant species in treatments designed to restore a healthy balance to a person whose body was "disturbed." For instance, many plant components are said to affect a condition known as "Xiao-ke" in TCM, which corresponds to early stage type 2 diabetes in modern medicine. Jia has found through laboratory testing that these components can dramatically lower blood sugar.

The North Carolina Research Campus is the brainchild of David H. Murdock, owner and chairman of Castle & Cooke and Dole Food Company. About 70 miles southwest of Greensboro, the campus will eventually include a million square feet of office and laboratory space, and 350,000 square feet of retail space, as well as townhomes, apartments and parks. The public-private partnership is expected to eventually employ 5,000 researchers and create up to 30,000 jobs.

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