The UAB Center for Nutrient-Gene Interaction in Cancer Prevention (CNGI)

The UAB CNGI is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional group of scientists from The University of Alabama at Birmingham, The Northern California Cancer Center, The University of Missouri-Rolla. The Center is focused on the role that diet plays in the programming of genes that are controlled by steroid hormones during puberty. The central hypothesis is that components in one's diet establish risk for breast, and possibly prostate, cancer later in adult life.

The hypothesis is being examined in three major project areas. These are:

Project 1:	Dietary polyphenols and chemoprevention in rodent models of breast and prostate cancer (Leader, Coral Lamartiniere, PhD>, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, UAB)
Project 2:	The effect of a soy diet on the timing of menarche (Leader, Pamela Horn-Ross, PhD, Northern California Cancer Center)
Project 3:	Statistical analysis of high dimensional data (Leader, David Allison, PhD, Department of Biostatistics, UAB)

Research in the Center is supported by four cores. These are:

Core A:	Administration (Director, Stephen Barnes, PhD, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, UAB; Associate Director, Clinton J. Grubbs, PhD, Department of Surgery, UAB)
Core B:	Genomics (Director, Michael R Crowley, PhD, Heflin Center for Human Genetics, UAB)
Core C:	Proteomics (Director, Helen Kim, PhD, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, UAB)
Core D:	Biostatistics/Bioinformatics (Director, David Allison, PhD, Department of Biostatistics, UAB)

The Center promotes interest in nutrient-gene interaction research through a monthly seminar program involving invited outside speakers and members of CNGI. In addition, members of CNGI and those with research ideas in nutrient-gene interaction are encouraged to submit proposals for a pilot project program.