Research at NCRC
Along with the DHMRI, the UNC Charlotte Bioinformatics Research Center, Monsanto, General Mills, and Carl Zeiss MicroImaging, Inc. located in the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory, the NCRC's university, business, and non-profit partners are housed in the Plants for Human Health and Nutrition Research Institute facilities.
In the Plants for Human Health, NC State University is focused on discovering and improving the biologically-active compounds in fruits and vegetables that can protect against chronic disease and enhance human performance. Dole Foods is conducting research to identify and qualify phytochemicals. By doing so, the company will be able to breed fruits and vegetables with enhanced nutritional value and protection against disease. Appalachian State University's Human Performance Laboratory is investigating the influence of plant molecules on age-related loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia), muscle mitochondrial biogenesis, and exercise-induced changes in immune function, oxidative stress, and inflammation.
In the Nutrition Research Institute, UNC Chapel Hill is studying the effects of diet relating to brain development, cancer prevention, and the prevention and treatment of obesity as well as metabolic variations in people in order to establish approaches to individualized nutrition. NC A&T State University is focused on research into post harvest technologies and food science geared to improving the quality and safety of food in areas such as processing, preservation, recovery of health promoting food components, storage stability, and value-added product development.
Using metabolimic and nutrigenomic technologies, NC Central University's Nutrition Research Program is identifying and evaluating bioactive natural products from functional foods and herbal medicine for the purpose of prevention and treatment of cancer and diabetes. Similarly, UNC Greensboro's Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive Food Components is researching the benefits and effects of the bioactive food components in fruits, vegetables, and medicinal herbs to better understand the role that diet plays in preventing disease and living longer, healthier lives.