Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences (Sonoran) is hosting a Virtual Research Night sponsored by Standard Process Inc. on Thursday, March 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. The free event is led by Sonoran’s Ric Scalzo Institute for Botanical Research department faculty and students to share findings on topics like the common cold or COVID-19.

“Some of today’s most important medicines originated from plants – cancer drugs like Taxol, the anti-malaria medicine Artemisinin, or the anti-inflammatory aspirin,” said Dr. Paul Mittman, President & CEO of Sonoran. “Our hope is that the discoveries made by our faculty and students can help develop the next generation of safe and effective medicines.”

The event features the following presentations:

• Unlocking the secrets of botanicals. Bill Chioffi, VP Strategic Partnerships and Business Development for the Institute, will share details on how the newly constructed labs will advance botanical medicine.
• Combating antibiotic resistant bacteria with propolis. Student researchers Daniel Clark and Melissa Bellman will discuss the effectiveness of bee propolis, or ‘bee glue’.
• Echinacea pupurea: The importance of proper extraction methods to combat the common cold. Johanne Gerstel, NMD, will share how her findings can help to standardize the optimal extraction method and plant part used for Echinacea to address rhinovirus infections.
• Botanical treatment of canine infections. Student researcher Chelsea Barranco will discuss which herbal compounds are effective against the canine papilloma virus and the causative agent of kennel cough.
• Are botanicals the answer for COVID-19? Jeffrey Langland, Ph.D., Chair of Department of Research at Sonoran and Research Director at the Ric Scalzo Institute, will discuss the potential of botanicals as therapies for SARS-CoV-2 infections and specific botanical extracts that inhibit virus replication.
• Protective and preventative effects of Apiaceous plants against neuro- and cardiotoxic agents. Yalda Shokoohinia, Ph.D., PharmD, Senior Scientist at the Ric Scalzo Institute and Professor of Pharmaconosy and Phytochemistry at Sonoran will share how the Celery family plants may be used as protection against neurodegenerative agents which can cause diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s.

Two hours of Continuing Education (CE) credits are available. For more information, visit sonoran.edu/events-calendar.

About Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences
Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences (Sonoran) is a school of medicine and health sciences grounded in naturopathic principles.  Dedicated to the ideal that everyone deserves high-quality healthcare, we engage students in rigorous, innovative academic programs, discover and expand knowledge, and empower individuals and communities to achieve optimal health. For more information, visit sonoran.edu.

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