Director named for Kannapolis research institute
An internationally known scientist from the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign will lead the N.C. State University effort at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis to develop fruits and vegetables that protect and enhance human health.
Dr. Mary Ann Lila, a professor in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, will direct the N.C. State Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute. Lila, who now directs the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences international program, assumed her new duties Aug. 1.
The Research Campus is the vision of David Murdock, a California billionaire who owns the Dole Food Co. Murdock is reshaping Kannapolis into a 21st-century research center, where the focus will be vegetable and fruit improvement, food safety and nutrition. Murdock formed a partnership with the University of North Carolina system, and he sees system members such as N.C. State playing major roles in developing the Research Campus.
N.C. State is represented on the Research Campus by the Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute. Much of the work of faculty from other universities will focus on determining the best nutritional characteristics for various fruits and vegetables. N.C. State faculty will use this nutritional information as a starting point to develop plants that contain bioactive compounds that prevent and treat disease. N.C. State faculty will also work to determine how best to produce these plants commercially.
“We are excited that Mary Ann Lila has agreed to direct the Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute,” said Dr. Steve Lommel, interim associate dean for research in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Lommel is coordinating N.C. State efforts at Kannapolis.
Lommel added, “Dr. Lila’s 24 years of research experience with plant chemistry and animal nutritional studies will help ensure that N.C. State and the North Carolina Research Campus succeed in improving the human condition through better nutrition.”
Lila, who has devoted nearly a quarter-century career at the University of Illinois to studying the biologically active properties of plants, said the mission of the FVSI and the Research Campus is “completely in line with my background and philosophy and research.”
Lila’s research focuses on the bioactive compounds found in some foods, particularly fruits, that confer human health benefits when the food is eaten. The benefits of eating foods and beverages rich in these compounds are well-established, according to Lila, but the identity and protective mechanisms of the compounds have not been defined.
Her research is aimed at identifying bioactive compounds and understanding how they work. Lila is particularly interested in compounds that appear to help counteract chronic disease and promote endurance. Her home department in the College will be the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences.
— Dave Caldwell
Dr. Mary Ann Lila, a professor in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, will direct the N.C. State Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute. Lila, who now directs the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences international program, assumed her new duties Aug. 1.
The Research Campus is the vision of David Murdock, a California billionaire who owns the Dole Food Co. Murdock is reshaping Kannapolis into a 21st-century research center, where the focus will be vegetable and fruit improvement, food safety and nutrition. Murdock formed a partnership with the University of North Carolina system, and he sees system members such as N.C. State playing major roles in developing the Research Campus.
Mary Ann Lila
“We are excited that Mary Ann Lila has agreed to direct the Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute,” said Dr. Steve Lommel, interim associate dean for research in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Lommel is coordinating N.C. State efforts at Kannapolis.
Lommel added, “Dr. Lila’s 24 years of research experience with plant chemistry and animal nutritional studies will help ensure that N.C. State and the North Carolina Research Campus succeed in improving the human condition through better nutrition.”
Lila, who has devoted nearly a quarter-century career at the University of Illinois to studying the biologically active properties of plants, said the mission of the FVSI and the Research Campus is “completely in line with my background and philosophy and research.”
Lila’s research focuses on the bioactive compounds found in some foods, particularly fruits, that confer human health benefits when the food is eaten. The benefits of eating foods and beverages rich in these compounds are well-established, according to Lila, but the identity and protective mechanisms of the compounds have not been defined.
Her research is aimed at identifying bioactive compounds and understanding how they work. Lila is particularly interested in compounds that appear to help counteract chronic disease and promote endurance. Her home department in the College will be the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences.
— Dave Caldwell