By Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-4314
Posted 8-24-10
GREENSBORO — Dr. Zhanxiang Zhou, an accomplished researcher of liver disease, has been named co-director of UNCG’s Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive Food Components.
Dr. Wei Jia is the other co-director of the center based in Kannapolis at the North Carolina Research Campus. Zhou, whose appointment includes a faculty position in the UNCG Department of Nutrition, joins the center from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, where he was a tenured associate professor.
Zhou’s research interest is fatty liver disease, which can be caused by excessive alcohol consumption. An increasingly common problem in the U.S., the disease can lead to liver failure and is considered a risk factor for liver carcinoma. He focuses on the role of interactions among the gut, liver and fatty tissue in the progression of the disease, and hopes to develop novel therapeutic strategies involving bioactive food components.
“Dr. Zhou has both a national and international reputation for his innovative research addressing issues of great importance to health,” said Dr. Terri Shelton, vice chancellor for research and economic development at UNCG. “He and Co-Director Wei Jia, himself an exceptionally productive researcher, will be key contributors to UNCG’s growing efforts in health research. We are thrilled that Dr. Zhou has joined the UNCG team.”
Zhou has written or co-written almost 90 journal articles and five book chapters, and made four dozen presentations at academic conferences. Before starting work at the University of Louisville in 1998, he was a faculty member at the Beijing Agricultural University College of Veterinary Medicine.
“The Center for Bioactive Food Components and the North Carolina Research Campus offer not only state-of-the-art equipment, but an interdisciplinary environment,” Zhou said. “The research team led by Dr. Jia has been conducting groundbreaking research to identify bioactive food components for the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders. This unique research environment is what attracted me to Kannapolis.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences and veterinary medicine at Hebei Agricultural University in Baoding, China; a master’s degree in veterinary histology at Beijing Agricultural University; and a doctorate in nutritional physiology at Ehime University in Matsuyama, Japan.
Affiliated with UNCG’s Department of Nutrition, the Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive Food Components investigates ingredients of foods and plants that affect health. These ingredients include phytochemicals, such as an antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) from green tea, and trace elements, such as zinc with a protective effect on fatty liver. Researchers use a whole biological systems approach, known as metabolomics, to identify chemical and metabolic profiles of bioactive components. They also investigate molecular and cellular mechanisms of these components, addressing fundamental questions about health and wellness, healthy aging, and disease prevention.
David H. Murdock, owner of Dole Food Company, is the visionary behind the North Carolina Research Campus. 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.
