Biography
Biography: Liang Xu
Abstract
Nature provides a rich resource for drug discovery for human diseases including cancer. Many current cancer drugs are originally discovered from nature, or natural products, or their derivatives / analogs. More natural products derived compounds are in drug discovery pipelines and various stages of clinical trials. Although dietary supplements cannot be marketed in the United States for the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of disease, the use of botanicals and other dietary supplements for prevention and treatment of many diseases is highly promoted by lay press and high profile medical practitioners. Interest in non-pharmaceutical treatments has grown although the scientific evaluation of efficacy, safety and mechanism of action of popularly promoted botanicals is almost uniformly lacking. An important goal of our research is to address important public health issues for natural products potential use in cancer by documenting the efficacy, and identifying toxicities, of complex but well characterized and vouchered plant extracts that are analogous to dietary supplements available for over the counter use. Some compounds show promise for cancer by targeting cancer stem cells.
Speaker Presentations
Speaker PPTs Click Here