Cassandra Quave
Director of the Emory Herbarium
Dr. Cassandra Quave (‘00C, ‘26P) is the Thomas J. Lawley, MD Professor of Dermatology and Associate Professor of Human Health at Emory University, where she also serves as the Herbarium Curator and Assistant Dean of Research Cores. As a medical ethnobotanist, her work focuses on the documentation and pharmacological evaluation of medicinal plants. The National Institutes of Health, industry contracts, and philanthropy support her research. Quave is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and the Explorers Club. She has been honored with the Emory Williams Teaching Award, Charles Heiser, Jr. Mentor Award, American Herbal Products Association Herbal Insight Award, and Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communication. Dr. Quave is co-founder and CSO of Verdant Scientific Inc.—a biotech company focused on developing new therapies for infectious and inflammatory skin disease. She has been profiled in the New York Times Magazine, BBC Science Focus, National Geographic Magazine, NPR, PBS, and the National Geographic Channel. Beyond her research and teaching activities, Quave is an avid science communicator. She writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter, is the co-creator and host of the Foodie Pharmacology podcast, and is author of the science memoir, “The Plant Hunter: A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Medicine,” hailed as one of the best books of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews.