The Plant Hunter bookcover

The Plant Hunter

A Scientist's Quest for Nature's Next Medicines
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Description

A leading medical ethnobotanist tells us the story of her quest to develop new ways to fight illness and disease through the healing powers of plants in this uplifting and adventure-filled memoir.

Plants are the basis for an array of lifesaving and health-improving medicines we all now take for granted. Ever taken an aspirin? Thank a willow tree for that. What about life-saving medicines for malaria? Some of those are derived from cinchona and wormwood.

In today's world of synthetic pharmaceuticals, scientists and laypeople alike have lost this connection to the natural world. But by ignoring the potential of medicinal plants, we are losing out on the opportunity to discover new life-saving medicines needed in the fight against the greatest medical challenge of this century: the rise of the post-antibiotic era. Antibiotic-resistant microbes plague us all. Each year, 700,000 people die due to these untreatable infections; by 2050, 10 million annual deaths are expected unless we act now.

No one understands this better than Dr. Cassandra Quave, whose groundbreaking research as a leading medical ethnobotanist--someone who identifies and studies plants that may be able to treat antimicrobial resistance and other threatening illnesses--is helping to provide clues for the next generation of advanced medicines. In The Plant Hunter, Dr. Quave weaves together science, botany, and memoir to tell us the extraordinary story of her own journey. Traveling by canoe, ATV, mule, airboat, and on foot, she has conducted field research in the flooded forests of the remote Amazon, the murky swamps of southern Florida, the rolling hills of central Italy, isolated mountaintops in Albania and Kosovo, and volcanic isles arising out of the Mediterranean--all in search of natural compounds, long-known to traditional healers, that could help save us all from the looming crisis of untreatable superbugs. And as a person born with multiple congenital defects of her skeletal system, she's done it all with just one leg. Filled with grit, tragedy, triumph, awe, and scientific discovery, her story illuminates how the path forward for medical discovery may be found in nature's oldest remedies.

Product Details

PublisherViking
Publish DateOctober 12, 2021
Pages384
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconHardback
EAN/UPC9781984879110
Dimensions9.0 X 6.0 X 0.8 inches | 1.1 pounds

About the Author

Cassandra Quave, PhD, is the herbarium curator and an associate professor of dermatology and human health at Emory University, where she leads anti-infective drug discovery research initiatives and teaches courses on medicinal plants, food, and health. She is also the co-founder and CEO/CSO of PhytoTEK LLC, a drug-discovery company dedicated to developing solutions from botanicals for the treatment of recalcitrant antibiotic-resistant infections. Dr. Quave is a fellow of the Explorers Club, a former president of the Society for Economic Botany, and a recipient of the Emory Williams Teaching Award and Charles Heiser, Jr. Mentor Award. She is the co-creator and host of Foodie Pharmacology, a podcast dedicated to exploring the links between food and medicine. A leader in the field of medical botany, she has authored more than 100 scientific publications and has been featured in the New York Times Magazine and BBC Focus, as well as on PBS, NPR and the National Geographic Channel.

Reviews

"An enthralling account of an inspiring tragedy-to-triumph story about becoming a leading scientist in search of plants that heal. Highly recommended!"
--Mark J. Plotkin, President of the Amazon Conservation Team and author of Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice

"Cassandra Quave is a woman with incredible grit and courage."
--Temple Grandin, bestselling author of Thinking in Pictures

"The Plant Hunter
moved and amazed me. Cassandra Quave is flat-out heroic. We see her pursue her passion under grueling conditions that would make most of us blanch, even if we did not sport a prosthetic leg, as Quave does. Lance a boil on your own inflamed limb in the jungle as a college student on your first international research trip? Tote your first baby along as you conduct fieldwork essential for your doctoral research? And perhaps most challenging--juggle the demands of running two labs, securing grants, teaching and mentoring, and being a mother to three children? Quave does it all, and she shares her inspiring story with humor and grace."
--Victoria Johnson, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of American Eden

"Like an intricate game, The Plant Hunter is a book that contains many books within it: a magical memoir and a journey of dogged discovery, a profound romance and a stirring call to action. Above all, it is an urgent plea to recover knowledge that has almost been lost to us, and to honor the untold generations whose ancient wisdom might save our lives."
--Maryn McKenna, author of Big Chicken and Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Human Health

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