Scientist Receives $1M Grant to Explore ‘Mediterranean South’ Diet

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 3, 2026) — Shengmin Sang, Ph.D., a researcher at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s Center of Excellence in Post-Harvest Technologies, has been awarded a four-year, $1,046,500 grant to investigate the potential health benefits of introducing elements of the popular Mediterranean diet into traditional Southern fare.

“The traditional Southern diet is characterized by high intakes of sugar, saturated fat and processed meats, along with other foods associated with heart disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes,” said Sang, the Distinguished Professor of Functional Foods in N.C. A&T’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES). “It’s unlikely you can completely change someone’s diet. But if you substitute healthier ingredients into their regular diet, we’re hoping it can help prevent the development of metabolic diseases.”

The “Mediterranean diet” is a catch-all description for an eating plan high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil and other minimally processed foods. Multiple studies have suggested that this diet can lower the risk of cardiovascular and other diseases. 

The project will conduct a four-week clinical trial in which half of participants will eat a “Mediterranean South” diet, with healthier ingredients substituted for the high-fat, high-sugar staples of a traditional Southern diet. The project will evaluate the feasibility, sustainability and anti-diabetic effects of a Mediterranean-style diet adapted to Southern taste preferences. It will determine whether this diet can decrease carbonyl stress, a buildup of harmful compounds from sugar and lipid metabolism that can lead to chronic inflammation, diabetes and other diseases. It will identify genetic signatures associated with changes in carbonyl stress. The project also will train students and clinical trial participants to become ambassadors to help at-risk communities combat metabolic diseases through healthier eating.

“This is a powerful and timely initiative that melds culturally resonant dietary strategies with rigorous science and community engagement,” said Radiah Minor, Ph.D, interim CAES dean. “This work has enormous transformative potential — for our students, for public health and for the communities we serve. It reflects the very best of our university’s land-grant mission.”

This grant was one of seven totaling $4.8 million announced in January by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture Food and Research Initiative to help control chronic disease through healthy dietary choices. Other institutions receiving awards include Florida State University, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and University of Tennessee.

Sang, the project’s principal investigator, will lead the project from the Center for Excellence in Post-Harvest Technologies at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis. Two researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health will collaborate on this project: Saroja Voruganti, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and director of clinical research core at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute, and Alice Ammerman, DrPH, Mildred Kaufman Distinguished Professor of Nutrition.