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Hang Xiao

Associate Professor Hang Xiao
Associate Professor
Specialty: 
Diet-based strategy for disease prevention
Tel: 
(413) 545-2281
Food Science Dept.
324 Chenoweth Lab
University of Massachusetts
100 Holdsworth Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9282
Profile: 

Epidemiological evidence has indicated that diet abundant in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, and this effect has been attributed to bioactive components present in these foods. For example, it was estimated that one third of cancer cases might be preventable by dietary modification.

My research is focused on identifying potential disease preventive dietary components (nutraceuticals), elucidating their molecular mechanisms, investigating possible synergistic interactions among these dietary components and commonly used pharmacological compounds, enhancing biological activities of dietary components by food processing and nanotechnology, with the long-term goal of developing diet-based strategies for the prevention of chronic diseases. The major approach of this research is the utilization of chemical, biochemical & molecular biology in cell cultures combined with in vivo animal models for human diseases.