CAES to Host Alumni and Donor Appreciation Event Dec. 17
Join us for an evening of Aggie Pride! You are cordially invited to a virtual holiday celebration with the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17.
Please register in advance for this Zoom meeting
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about attending the meeting. For more information, contact Justin Lewter, director of development, at 336-285-3055 or jmlewter1@ncat.edu.
Jefferson-Moore, Bell Interviewed by ABC News
Kenrett Jefferson-More, Ph.D.
Kenrett Jefferson-Moore, chairperson of the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education and alumnus Kamal Bell, CEO of Sankofa Farms, were interviewed by ABC News for a story about the Justice for Black Farmers Act, a bill that would allow Black farmers to acquire acreage through a USDA system of land grants.
“African American farmers have had to fight for so much over the years — information, rights, land access, capital access and so on,” Jefferson-Moore said. “… It brings tears to my eyes to think of how this would change opportunities for African American farmers.”
Sang Awarded Grant to Study Oats’ Effects on Inflammatory Diseases
Shengmin Sang, Ph.D.
Shengmin Sang, Ph.D., a professor of functional foods and human health in N.C. A&T’s Center for Post-Harvest Technologies, has been awarded a three-year grant totaling nearly $500,000 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
The grant will be used to develop germinated and false-germinated oats as “functional” foods that not only taste good but also benefit human health, potentially offering important, new dietary options for preventing and treating disease.
“Increasing evidence shows that many chronic diseases are preventable, and diet plays a very important role in disease prevention and treatment,” Sang said. “The general public prefers dietary regimens, instead of drugs, for preventing or treating chronic diseases.”
The $499,000 grant will support research on the use of germination and false-germination to optimize the bioactive compounds in oats. Studies have shown that oat products can help prevent and combat chronic inflammatory diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease and its associated colorectal cancer, Sang said. Preliminary data from Sang’s lab found that germinated and false-germinated oats have significantly more of the phytochemicals – plant-based chemicals that protect cells – that can boost oats’ anti-inflammatory properties.
“Oat phytochemicals show significant promise in helping reduce inflammation,” Sang said. “Our goal is to help people with chronic inflammatory conditions improve their outcomes by eating oats, instead of taking more medicine.”
