As a satellite of the UNCG Office of Research and Engagement, the UNCG Center for Translational Biomedical Research was established by the State of North Carolina in 2008 as one of the research centers at the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) in Kannapolis, on the 2nd floor of the PHHI building. The center, located 70 miles southwest of Greensboro, is co-directed by Drs. Qibin Zhang and Zhanxiang Zhou.
Research at the Center is primarily focused on fatty liver diseases, type 1 diabetes, and diabetic complications. The Center is very well equipped to do biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, immunology and mass spectrometry-based proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics. We develop novel bioanalytical methods for more accurate and more sensitive detection of biomolecules and apply state-of-the-art tools to tackle the challenging problems related to these diseases. Using cellular and animal models and clinical specimens, our goals are to identify biomolecules for early-stage disease diagnosis and to understand the pathogenic mechanisms and uncover novel therapeutic targets for better management and cure of these disorders.
The Center has close ties to the UNCG Department of Nutrition and the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and trains postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students interested in chemistry, nutrition, and health sciences. In addition, the center enthusiastically supports scientific projects from local high schools.
The NCRC is a 350-acre public-private venture located just north of Charlotte, NC, dedicated to promoting collaboration and advancing knowledge in biotechnology, nutrition, agriculture, and health. It fosters interdisciplinary research among its eight constituent universities, industry partners, and entrepreneurs, focusing on safer, more nutritious crops, healthier foods, and precision nutrition.
Research and product development is collaborative and multi-disciplinary. Focus areas are as varied as phytochemicals in fruits, vegetables, grains, and herbs; exercise physiology; post-harvest physiology; population-based, genetic studies; and precision nutrition. The growing base of scientific knowledge combines new understandings of how nutrients, plant phytochemicals, the environment, and lifestyle choices impact brain and fetal development, cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, fatty liver, and other metabolic disorders.
Meet Our Team
Leadership
Zhou Research Group
Fatty liver disease, in which excess lipids deposit in the liver, is an emerging worldwide health problem that currently affects more than 20% of adults and more than 5% of children. Center scientists are working to understand how imbalanced dietary consumption, such as over consumption of alcohol and fructose and the Western diet, contributes to the development of liver diseases such as fatty liver disease, hepatitis or steatohepatitis.
Zhang Research Group
Diabetes, a disease characterized by abnormally high blood sugar levels, affects 29 million people in the U.S. alone and has estimated annual health care costs of $245 billion. Center scientists are working to find biomarkers for early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and diabetic complications, so preventative strategies can be administered in time for their eradication.
