Researcher in herbal and traditional Chinese medicines named co-director of UNCG center at Research Campus

Monday, February 02, 2009 3:44 AM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend |

By Emily Ford

eford@salisburypost.com

KANNAPOLIS — Herbal and traditional Chinese medicines will play a key role in the research conducted by the Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive Food Components at the N.C. Research Campus.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has named Dr. Wei Jia as co-director of the UNCG center in Kannapolis.

Jia is a leading researcher in the study of herbal and traditional Chinese medicines.

Dr. Debbie Kipp, chair of the UNCG Department of Nutrition, is the center's other co-director.

Bioactive food components are molecules found in food, other than vitamins and minerals, that may affect health.

Wei applies the latest scientific tools to analyze remedies used in traditional Chinese medicine.

His research focuses on identifying and characterizing bioactive components from natural products and traditional Chinese medicine that can affect common metabolic diseases, such as diabetes.

Jia, whose appointment includes a faculty position in the Department of Nutrition, joins UNCG from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He served as vice dean of the university's pharmacy school.

He was a principal investigator at the university's Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, which focuses on drug discovery and development from herbal medicines and traditional Chinese medicines.

Jia brings "alternative approaches to the study of human health and nutrition," said UNCG Provost David Perrin.

As chief scientist for China's Walfen Medical Co., Jia developed a new drug to treat bone disorders. He led the development of several botanical drugs in China and serves as an expert for the China State Food and Drug Administration.

Jia applies cutting-edge biochemical and analytical tools to better understand how multiple bioactive components from plants interact with the human body.

For thousands of years, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine have combined plant species to treat sick people.

Jia's research proved that plant components used to treat a condition known as "Xiao-ke," similar to early stage type 2 diabetes, can dramatically lower blood sugar.

The N.C. Research Campus will provide an unprecedented opportunity for holistic nutritional and pharmaceutical research by bringing together scientists from varied cultural backgrounds, Jia said in a statement.

The Research Campus is the brainchild of David H. Murdock, owner and chairman of Castle & Cooke and Dole Food Company.