Cassandra L. Quave, PhD is a medical ethnobotanist, author, and Professor of Dermatology and Human Health at Emory University, where she also serves as Director of the Emory Herbarium. Her research explores the therapeutic potential of medicinal plants and natural products, with a focus on discovering new strategies to combat antibiotic-resistant infections and inflammatory skin diseases. Quave is the author of more than 100 scientific publications, holds multiple patents, and has co-founded biotechnology companies focused on translating natural product discoveries into new therapeutics.
A Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, Quave is also an award-winning science communicator. She is the author of the memoir The Plant Hunter, host of the podcast Foodie Pharmacology, and writer of the newsletter Nature’s Pharmacy. Through her scholarship and public engagement, she bridges traditional knowledge and modern biomedical science to advance human health.