Research Portfolio
Our portfolio combines modern technology (metabolomics, bioassay-guided fractionation) with traditional knowledge to solve health disparities.
1) ) Research of Cannabis and the Cannabinoid System. With Kessler Foundation support, MSM research teams under the leadership of Dr. Cimona Hinton are studying cannabis physician education, lifespan sleep/circadian regulation, and equitable access/use in older adults (“Up in Smoke & Age”and Care Cannabis).
A new project led by Dr. Keivan Zandi and Dr. Cimona Hinton applies data science to discover cannabis‑derived antivirals for high‑risk infections in older adults.
2) Antiviral & immunomodulatory agents. Originating from a long‑standing collaboration with PROMETRA (Senegal), NPRC investigators isolated a 30 kDa lectin (“MoMo30”) from Momordica balsamina, advanced it from activity‑guided purification to gene sequencing and expression and demonstrated that it binds the HIV‑1 gp120 envelope and other glycosylated viral envelopes, blocking cell entry. Field follow‑up in Senegal documented women with normal CD4 counts and undetectable viral loads, with evidence of broadly neutralizing antibodies. Current work focuses on IND‑enabling steps to support a first‑in‑human safety study.
3) Oncology & chemoprevention. A large and productive program in cancer immunobiology and natural‑product chemoprevention (e.g., thymoquinone, resveratrol, curcumin) led by Dr Rajesh Sigh, with >270 scientific communications and >$8M in peer‑reviewed support, including an American Cancer Society CHERC‑MSI award (2022–2027). Recent and representative outputs span targeted delivery/nanotherapeutics, reversal of drug resistance, and phytochemical modulation of cancer signaling; dissemination includes multiple AACR and other national presentations from 2013–2025. As an Additional oncology lines: Dr Shailesh Singh, examine cinnamtannin B‑1, emodin, and quercetin in colorectal and prostate cancer models.
4) Cardio‑metabolic inflammation. A program on nitro‑fatty acid therapeutics shows anti‑inflammatory actions, blood‑pressure reduction in hypertension models, and protection against steatosis/fibrosis; works include a 2019 EBioMedicine study highlighted by editorial commentary and a recent patent application aligned with an STTR effort led by Dr. Luis Villacorta Perez.