معرفی
Paul Spagnuolo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph, where he leads research on nutraceuticals as novel therapeutics. Previously, he held an Assistant Professor position at the University of Waterloo's School of Pharmacy. His academic journey includes a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Guelph, a Ph.D. in Applied Health Sciences from Waterloo, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
Research Interests: Spagnuolo's work focuses on understanding how nutraceuticals influence cellular mechanisms, particularly their anti-cancer effects in leukemia and leukemia stem cells. His lab pioneered a high-throughput screening approach for nutraceuticals, discovering avocatin B—a lipid from avocados with potent anti-leukemia activity. Current projects explore avocatin B's therapeutic potential, formulation development, and its role in elucidating fatty acid oxidation pathways.
Awards:
- Mead Johnson Award (2016) from the American Society for Nutrition
Collaborations & Roles: He leads the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance's Research Program on Products and Value Chains, sits on the Board of the Natural Health Products Research Society, and is affiliated with the Stem Cell Network and Ontario Institute of Regenerative Medicine. His lab collaborates with the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine to advance avocatin B toward clinical trials.
Future Directions: Research emphasizes translating nutraceutical discoveries into clinical applications, with ongoing work on oral formulation development, pharmacokinetics, and identifying avocatin B's active components.
