Department of Nutrition
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive Food Components
News Release (8/5/08): Eminent Researcher Named Co-Director of UNCG Bioactive Food Component Research Center
Employment Opportunity: Post-Doctoral Fellows (2 positions) (see job announcement)
Information Sheet about the UNCG Center at NCRC (pdf)
Program Overview
Our health is increasingly about diet and metabolism. The consumption of
a nutritious diet promotes long-term health and reduction of risk for chronic
disease. Certain constituents found in foods (such as fruits and vegetables)
and medicinal herbs (such as herbal teas) are responsible for changes
in health status. We expect that these bioactive components will provide
insights into the role that diet plays in helping people live longer, healthier
lives. Researchers at The UNCG Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive
Food Components are conducting research to identify and evaluate bioactive
ingredients from food, plants and traditional Chinese medicines for the
prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders such as diabetes, obesity,
and cancer. This research entails chemical and metabolic profiling of bioactive
components from a whole biological systems (metabolomics) approach.
Other research examines cellular and molecular mechanisms of bioactive
components, in order to address fundamental research questions that enhance
our basic understanding of the contribution of bioactive components to
human health and wellness, healthy aging, and prevention of disease.
The UNCG Center is
housed in the UNC Nutrition Research Building at the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) in Kannapolis, NC which
is about 70 miles southwest of Greensboro.
The Center is a satellite to the UNCG Department of Nutrition,
School of Human Environmental Sciences on the UNCG main campus.
Contact Information:
Dr. Wei Jia
Professor and Co-Director of The Center
office phone number: 704.250.5803
w_jia@uncg.edu
Dr. Debbie Kipp
Chair, Dept. of Nutrition and
Interim Co-Director of The Center
office phone number: 704.250.5803 (NCRC), 336.256-0266 (UNCG)
d_kipp@uncg.edu
Ms. Stephanie Carriker, M.S., R.D.
Lecturer and Nutrition Educator
office phone number: 704.250-5802
slcarrik@uncg.edu
Office Address:
Suite 4226
500 Laureate Way
Kannapolis, NC 28081
general phone number: 704.250.5800
fax: 704.250.5809
What are Bioactive Food Components?
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), bioactive food components are “constituents in foods or dietary supplements, other than those needed to meet basic human nutritional needs, that are responsible for changes in health status.” Major sources of bioactive food components are plants, especially fruits and vegetables. Some foods that have become known for their bioactive food components include soy which contains isoflavones and phytoestrogens, red wine which contains resveratrol that may influence heart health, tomatoes which contain lycopene that may have anticancer properties, berries such as blueberries and raspberries which contain flavonoids like anthocyanins that may act as antioxidants, and green tea which contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) that may have anticancer properties.
Information about NCRC
NCRC is a $1.5-billion, 350-acre developing public/private biotechnology-research hub focused on food and nutrition. This project is the brainchild of David H. Murdock, owner of Dole Foods and a onetime operator of the former textile mill located in Kannapolis that closed in 2003. The campus will eventually include a million square feet of office and laboratory space and 350,000 square feet of retal space, as well as townhomes, apartments, and parks. The public-private partnership is expected to eventually employ 5,000 researchers and their staff, and create up to 30,000 jobs. Kannapolis is a city of 39,000 about 30 miles northeast of Charlotte (and ~70 miles southwest of Greensboro). (www.ncresearchcampus.net)