A prolific scholar and 2015 winner of the Research Article of the Year award from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Dr. Shengmin Sang is helping to position historically Black North Carolina A&T State University (N.C. A&T) into a center of cutting-edge cancer research.
As a reviewer for more than two dozen scholarly journals and owner of four U.S. patents with applications pending for an additional two, Sang is a highly accomplished scientist.
But perhaps his most significant achievement to date is his latest patent for a family of aspirin-derived compounds that may prove useful in treating or preventing colon cancer, heart disease and other disorders.
“Recently, clinical studies have shown that low-dose aspirin can prevent cancer, especially colorectal cancer,” Sang explains in an interview with Diverse.
“But long-term aspirin use can cause GI tract ulceration and bleeding, and because of that limitation we are trying to develop a new aspirin derivative, an aspirin alternative.”
In addition to preventing cancer, Sang says, “We think this could be helpful in treating anything for which aspirin is recommended for treatment or prevention. We found our new compound to be less toxic to the stomach than aspirin.”
