Plants, magic and molecules: The search for new cures from old remedies

Audrey O’Connor Lecture
Cassandra Quave, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Human Health, Emory University School of Medicine and Curator of the Emory University Herbarium
Thursday, October 12; 7:30 p.m.

Antibiotic resistant infections are on the rise and current therapies are becoming increasingly limited in both scope and efficacy. In effect, we are standing on the precipice of the post-antibiotic era... we just haven’t fallen off yet. As a medical ethnobotanist, Cassandra Quave’s and her team travel the world searching for medicinal plants that could hold the key to treating tomorrow’s superbugs. Through working with local people who use plant medicines today, to scouring herbal texts for important clues on ancient medical practices, and undertaking intensive chemical and biological tests on plant ingredients in the laboratory - they are making great strides in uncovering some of nature’s best kept secrets. In her lecture, Dr. Quave will describe her search for the drugs of the future from botanical treatments that have long been ignored by Western medicine. She’ll also provide some exciting updates on her work on antibacterial compounds found in chestnut leaves, blackberry roots, and peppertree fruit.

Date/time: Thursday, October 12; 7:30 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public
Location: Gates Hall G01, Cornell University