NC State Names two new Murdock Distinguished Professors

Drs. Colin Kay and Giuseppe Valacchi, professors at North Carolina State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI) on the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, have been named David H. Murdock Distinguished Professors. 

Three Murdock professorships were created with a $2 million gift to NC State from David Murdock, former CEO of Dole Foods and other businesses. Murdock’s gift was matched with $1 million from the North Carolina Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund, and the $3 million total used to create endowments that fund the three professorships. Dr. Mary Ann Lila, Director of PHHI, was the inaugural Murdock Distinguished Professor in 2010, and retains the distinction. 

The N.C. Research Campus was Murdock’s vision. He collaborated with universities across North Carolina to transform Kannapolis, a former textile mill town, into a high-tech research center that focuses on developing a better understanding of human nutrition and foods with enhanced nutritional qualities.

The research efforts at the Plants for Human Health Institute, which is part of N.C. State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, are focused on shifting the way the American public views and uses plant food crops, utilizing them not only for nutrients but also for phytochemicals that protect and enhance human health.

Kay joined PHHI in 2016 as part of the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences. Kay is an internationally known scientist for his research on dietary phytochemicals and their impacts on human health. Over his career he has led efforts in method development to support the characterization of phytochemical metabolites in nutrition intervention studies, including recent efforts to support metabolomics biomarker discovery in precision nutrition initiatives. 

Kay has developed online publicly-available research tools allowing individuals to explore relationships between diet and disease, and has participated in working groups, policy forums, and position papers supporting nutrition and health research. Kay says, “It is an honor to just be nominated for such a distinction. To be acknowledged by my peers as contributing to developing a better understanding of human nutrition and its translation to public health is a humbling experience.”

Valacchi has been a faculty member at PHHI since 2016 and is a member of the Department of Animal Science. His research focuses on understanding the mechanism by which modified redox homeostasis can affect tissue physiology and develop in patho-physiological processes. His lab evaluates the effect of exogenous and endogenous sources of oxidative stress on target organs such as skin, GI tract and lung and the signal pathways involved in the cellular responses to these insults, with special focus on epithelial wound healing. Additionally, his research interests include understanding the role of oxidative stress and the effect of dietary intervention in the rare disease, Rett Syndrome. Valacchi says, “I am very honored for this title, for which I need to thank all my colleagues, my Director, and most of all, my lab members who are able to carry out our research with great dedication and a positive attitude; part of this award belongs to them!”

Valacchi has hosted 18 visiting scholars, most from his home country of Italy, and has co-authored more than 300 total publications, of which 200 related to his six years at PHHI. Earlier this year, Valacchi was also named a 2021-22 University Faculty Scholar.