 "Photo: Johnathan Sexton")
If you're like most students on campus, you probably didn't know that inside one of the science labs in the BRITE building, a research team equipped with chemicals and "robotic arms" is working on a drug treatment for type 2 diabetes.
And most likely you were unaware that they won a $1 million grant toward their research.
The research team is lead by Jonathan Sexton, assistant research professor. Sexton has been working on the project since 2007. He wrote the proposal to the National Institutes of Health for the grant. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
According to their Web site, NIH is the world's largest source of funding for medical research, and has created hundreds of thousands of jobs for scientists "These proposals are reviewed by the best scientists in the world," said Sexton.
"They have three cycles a year, and out of the 100 proposals they review from schools across the nation, only nine get granted funds." He feels proud that NCCU could be one of the nine.
"It shows things are changing around here." The grant will focus mainly on type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition that affects the way the body metabolizes sugar. If left untreated, it can be life-threatening.
The risks are highest among minorities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African-Americans and Latinos born in the U.S. in 2000 has an estimated lifetime risk of more than 40 percent of developing diabetes. Within those races, a female's risk is more than 50 percent.
"Three things can contribute to developing type 2 diabetes" says Sexton. "Your genetic history, dietary habits, and lifestyle." Many diabetic have to inject their medications, the team hopes to create a drug in a pill form.
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