UNC Charlotte announces support of Kannapolis biotech center
Plans announced at site of future North Carolina Research Campus

 CHARLOTTE – The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has announced its commitment to support the redevelopment of Kannapolis in three main areas –  bioinformatics, research in nutrition and health behavior, and education – as part of the newly-announced North Carolina Research Campus that will transform Kannapolis into a hotbed of high-tech jobs on the former Pillowtex corporate headquarters site. The announcement was made at a 10 a.m. news conference attended by Philip L. Dubois, Chancellor of UNC Charlotte; Molly Corbett Broad, President of the University of North Carolina; David H. Murdock, Chairman and CEO of Dole Food Company and architect of the Kannapolis redevelopment plan, and other dignitaries.

According to Dubois, UNC Charlotte’s new Bioinformatics Center is well positioned to provide computational research and educational programs to support the biotechnology efforts of the North Carolina Research Center in plant genomics, health, and translational research, specifically with gene-related research in the areas of functional genomics, statistical genetics, and proteomics. The university currently offers a bioinformatics track in its Information Technology doctoral program and plans to establish a master’s program in bioinformatics to provide highly trained professionals to work in the biotechnology field.

UNC Charlotte’s College of Health and Human Services also will provide support in the areas of nutrition and health behavior to bolster research programs spearheaded by sister institutions UNC Chapel Hill and NC State. UNC Charlotte currently offers a Ph.D. program in health services research – the only one in the state – to produce future experts who will focus on the heath of populations (people or communities) and how health technologies, organizational structures and processes, personal behaviors, and various social factors impact heath and well-being.

In addition, UNC Charlotte’s College of Education will support the formation of a residential science and mathematics high school for high-achieving young women by providing a curriculum development team, graduate assistants in classrooms to strengthen and enhance instruction, and research to help determine effective science education programs and techniques for talented high school women.

 “As this region’s only research university, we are honored to play a leading role in shaping the success of the North Carolina Research Campus to enhance the intellectual capital – and economic development – of our region,” Dubois said. “Under the leadership of Bioinformatics Center Director Larry Mays, College of Health and Human Services Dean Karen Schmaling, and College of Education Dean Mary Lynne Calhoun, our faculty across the board will provide invaluable expertise to our university partners and others involved in this effort,” he added.

Chancellor Dubois noted that according to a memo from UNC President Broad, the North Carolina Research Campus is a key element in reshaping the Kannapolis region’s economy. The centerpiece of the plan is a “biopolis” that will be a collaboration of the University’s leading research campuses including UNC Charlotte, NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill.

The North Carolina Research Campus will include:

•  The Institute for Advanced Fruit and Vegetable Science – led by N.C. State and created in conjunction with Dole Food Company – to develop enabling technologies for research and education to help bolster the economic and horticultural potential for fruit and vegetable production in the southeastern United States;
• A Nutrition Institute led by UNC Chapel Hill to focus on examining the relationship between nutrition and the brain, obesity, and cancer; and
• A residential science and mathematics high school to attract and prepare young women for careers in science-related professions.