NC Research Campus Update

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NC Research Campus Scientists Discover Possible Treatment for Anemia
Scientists at North Carolina Central University and North Carolina A&T State University have discovered a promising use of ginger that may lead to the development of a treatment for anemia. Dr. TinChung Leung of NCCU and Dr. Shengemin Sang of N.C. A&T presented their findings April 3 at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago.

Leung and Sang performed their research at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, where both universities have a presence. Leung, a biologist, is affiliated with NCCU’s Julius L. Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute. Sang, a chemist, is affiliated with N.C. A&T’s Center for Excellence in Post-Harvest Technologies.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a root that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Recent research has found it effective at reducing the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. It has also shown ginger to be effective at killing various cancers.

Now, Leung and Sang have found ginger and a compound it contains called Gingerol to be effective in treating anemia in zebrafish and mice. Anemia is a blood disorder in which there is a reduction in the number of circulating red blood cells, and it is a common side effect of cancer chemotherapy and renal disease.

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.

NC Research Campus Participates in Live and Learn Film Series
On Monday, April 16, the NCRC is hosted a free showing of the movie Living Proof at 7 pm in the events room of the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory building at 150 Research Drive. Part of the quarterly Live and Learn Film Series, the movie tells the true story of Dr. Dennis Slamon, the University of California Los Angeles physician who from 1988 to 1996 developed the breast cancer treatment Herceptin (trastuzumab). The movie stars Harry Connick Jr as Slamon and is based on the book The Making of Herceptin: A Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer by Robert Bazell.

Following the movie, Xiaohe Yang, PhD, with NC Central University’s Nutrition Research Program, Andrew Swick, PhD, UNC Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) and Dr. Gary Schwartz of NorthEast Oncology Associates were featured panelists. The panelists answered audience questions and discussed their research and experience involving cancer.

Yang, a scientist at the NC Research Campus, researches breast cancer etiology and prevention focusing on the modulation of hormone-growth factor, apoptosis and mammary stem cell reprogramming by genetic and environmental factors. During his career, he has worked on the protein target of the her2 antibody, which is at the center of the story of the movie Living Proof. Andrew Swick, PhD, director of the NRI’s research on obesity and eating disorders, has 20 years of experience researching obesity and understands the links between diet and disease. Dr. Gary Schwartz is a physician practicing with NorthEast Oncology Associates. He is certified in oncology and hematology by the American Board of Internal Medicine and specializes in the treatment of breast, colon, rectal and lung cancers as well as bleeding and clotting disorders.

The next movie shown will be Apple Pushers and it will be viewed on Monday July 17, 2012. The movie follows the stories of five immigrant, streetcar vendors who are participating in the Green Cart initiative. The Green Cart initiative is an experiment to bring fresh foods to New York City’s food deserts, where fresh foods are scarce and obesity and diabetes too common. The movie follows vendors dreams of life in America while making a statement about the “intersection of the food desert/obesity crisis, immigration and entry level-entrepreneurship.” The Apple Pushers is written and directed by award winning-documentary film maker Mary Mazzio, narrated by actor Edward Norton and underwritten by the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, For more information about the movie, visit www.applepushers.com. Following the movie a local panel will answer questions and discuss the issue presented in the movie.

Please stay tuned to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-Newsletter for more developments on these exciting stories. For more information on what is going on at the NC Research Campus, please visit the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s website at www.centralinaworks.com.

Background on the NC Research Campus

The State’s Next Biotechnology Region EmergesThe North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) has created excitement and interest from the entire Charlotte Region about future careers in biotechnology. The NCRC is a joint venture between Dole Foods, the University of North Carolina System, Duke University and the North Carolina Community College System that will be built over the next five to seven years on the former Pillowtex Plant 1 site in downtown Kannapolis. Projected to cost $1 billion and covering over 350 acres, the project is being funded partially by an investment from David H. Murdock, owner of Dole Foods and Castle & Cooke, Inc.
     
The NCRC will include the UNC at Chapel Hill’s Nutrition Institute, a Dole-NC State University Institute for Advanced Fruit and Vegetable Science, a Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC) facility, and a science and mathematics school for girls supported by UNC-Charlotte. The development plans also include residential, office, and retail components. Within the NCRC complex will be an $80 million, 311,000 square-foot Core Laboratory with a state-of-the-art contract manufacturing biogenic facility. This facility will be available for use by companies to be physically located on the NCRC. Mr. Murdock has established a venture capital fund of $100 million to help attract biotech start-up firms to the NCRC.

The Centralina Workforce Development Board has been and will continue to be an active partner with local workforce and economic development agencies in the growth of the NC Research Campus.  The Board has already worked with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and the Cabarrus County and Rowan County JobLink Career Centers in establishing the R3 Center (Refocus, Retrain, Re-employ) for intensive career counseling for individuals interested in the growing employment options in the region.  Additionally, the Centralina Workforce Development Board has assist in marketing and coordinating the involvement of workforce partners with the R3 Center, with the college’s Biotech 101 General Information Sessions for the general public, and with the college’s BioWorks course.

The North Carolina Research Campus Mission

The purpose of the North Carolina Research Campus is to create knowledge, jobs, and progress. These are the goals outlined in the campus’ success:

• Improve human health through research in nutrition and agriculture
• Create jobs through development of the campus
• Bring therapies and products to the public more quickly to improve health and nutrition, and create more jobs