Scientists from N.C. A&T and N.C. Central identify ginger as possible treatment for anemia

Scientists from N.C. A&T and North Carolina Central University have found a new direction for anemia research through their work with ginger.

Dr. Shengmin Sang of A&T and Dr. TinChung Leung of NCCU were scheduled to present their findings this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago.

From an NCCU news release:

“The two researchers have found that ginger extract and its purified component increase red blood cell production (erythropoiesis) in transgenic zebrafish recovering from anemia, as well as in normal non-anemic zebrafish. They also discovered that ginger and its purified component stimulate a signaling pathway that encourages blood stem-cell formation. This finding provides insight for future study of the effect of ginger and its bioactive components in formation of blood cellular components in mammals. It has the potential to lead to development of novel erythropoiesis-promoting agents to treat anemia commonly associated with cancer chemotherapy.”

Both researchers are based at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis.  Sang is with A&T’s Center of Excellence for Post-Harvest Research. Leung is with NCCU’s Julius Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute.

Child obesity event at N.C. Research Campus

The Kannapolis Scholars program is inviting researchers to attend a one-day workshop on child obesity at the N.C. Research Campus.  Registration is open through tomorrow, Friday July 22.

WHAT: Lost in Translation: A Conversation in Childhood Obesity.

WHEN and WHERE: Friday, August 5th, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., David H. Murdock Research Institute Core Laboratory Event Room. Breakfast and lunch will be provided free of charge.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: From advancements in obesity research to improvements in the products that end up on your plate, many careers, companies, and lives have been dedicated to addressing childhood obesity. However, these efforts do not tend to communicate to a diverse audience, and instead are generally focused within their field. By opening a dialogue among government, industry, and individual sources using a transdisciplinary approach we can provide revolutionary solutions for eliminating childhood obesity. Through transdisciplinary collaboration this conference will highlight the aspects of childhood obesity where our progress has been “lost in translation” from scientists to the community, government to industry and everywhere in between.

To this aim we have selected four speakers representing government, industry, academia, and community stakeholders to speak about issues relating to childhood obesity afterwards we plan on having conference attendees discuss these issues in a round-table format.

TO REGISTER: Deadline is Friday July 22nd. Go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/L5QQTQY.

QUESTIONS: kannapolisscholars@gmail.com.

The Kannapolis Scholar Program brings postgraduate students to the N.C. Research Campus for a transdisciplinary training program. The 14 postgraduates currently in the program research food science, nutrition and human health under the direction of mentors from each of the participating universities: Appalachian State, Duke, N.C. A&T, N.C. Central, N.C. State, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte, and UNC Greensboro.

Student housing proposed for Kannapolis

From the Charlotte Business Journal:

“The Kannapolis Rotary Club has launched a fund-raiser that would support the first student housing at the N.C. Research Campus.

“The club has set a five-year goal to raise at least $300,000. That money would support the purchase of a home near the Kannapolis-based research hub, to be called the Rotary House.  Organizers expect it would house as many as 10 students.”

For more details, see the Charlotte Business Journal (subscription required).

Grant of the month: Mohamed Ahmedna, $499,000 for research on peanut, wheat allergens

The Sponsored Funding Report for February:

North Carolina A&T received 12 grants totaling $1.16 million during the month.  The FY2011 total now stands at $37.6 million as of February 28.

One highlight of the month’s funding was $499,000 from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to Mohamed Ahmedna of the Center of Excellence for Post Harvest Technologies.

The project: Post-harvest processing of peanut and wheat products to reduce inherent allergens.

The issue: Thousands of Americans suffer from food allergies, which cause 150-200 fatalities annually. Young children remain the most affected by food allergies, which have been on the rise for reasons that are not well understood. Peanuts and wheat are two economically and nutritionally important crops associated with severe allergies. Their ubiquitous use by the food industry makes it very hard for allergic individuals to find safe food choices.

Abstract: We hypothesize that, under the right combination of physico-chemical and enzymatic processing conditions, food allergens can be reduced or inactivated through various mechanisms that target their vulnerabilities as proteins. Preliminary data obtained in our lab provide promising indication of the potential for this approach in peanuts. This proposal seeks to (1) demonstrate the effectiveness of post-harvest processing of peanut and wheat with endopeptidases and physicochemical treatment in reducing the concentrations of target allergens, (2) confirm the reduction of allergic potential of treated products in patients through clinical testing, and (3) evaluate the sensory acceptability and quality of treated peanut and wheat products. The most effective processing conditions (as judged by immunoassays) will be used to produce samples for confirmation of reduced allergenicity using basophil activation assays in leukocytes from allergic patients. Processing conditions that lead to minimum histamine release in-vitro will be used to process products for skin prick testing among allergic patients to confirm safety. Subsequently, sensory acceptability and quality of hypoallergenic products will be assessed and used as indicator of their commercial potential.

The full list of grants received in February (xslx file):

RAMSES — 2011-02-28 monthly grants list edited

Kannapolis field trip: Sign up for a ride to Center for Excellence in Post-Harvest Technologies

The School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences is hosting a presentation at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis next Tuesday evening. And they’ll give you a ride if you want.  The details, from the SAES Ag e-Dispatch (http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/):

Three scientists at the SAES’s Center for Excellence in Post-Harvest Technologies at the N. C. Research Campus in Kannapolis will be giving presentations covering their current research work on Tuesday, Feb. 15, at a program timed for and tailored to students and colleagues in Greensboro. Agricultural Research Program vans will be departing from C. H. Moore at 4 p.m. on Feb. 15, and returning from Kannapolis between 8:30 and 9 p.m. SAES faculty, staff and students who would like to reserve a seat should contact Ben Forbes. Following the three presentations by CEPHT scientists, there will be a quick tour of the CEPHT labs in Kannapolis before the vans load up for the return to Greensboro.

Scientists and subjects on the Feb 15 agenda are:

• Dr. Leonard Williams, Lead scientist for food safety, whose topic will be “Epidemiological Surveillance of Foodborne Pathogens”
• Dr. Guibing Chen, Lead scientist for food engineering, whose topic will be “Modification of Wheat Bran Using Microfluidization”
• Dr. Shengmin Sang, lead scientist for functional foods, whose topic will be “Functional Foods for Prevention of Cancer and Diabetic Complications”