Dr. Cassandra L. Quave, Curator

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.

E-mail: cquave [at] emory [dot] edu

Tel: (404) 727-7065

Dr. Tharanga Samarakoon, Collections Manager

Tharanga Samarakoon, Ph.D. received her bachelor’s degree in botany from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, in 2004. Her undergraduate research was on a taxonomic revision of the Crinum (swamp lilies, Amaryllidaceae) of Sri Lanka. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Southern Mississippi in 2015. Her graduate research was on a study of the phylogenetic relationships of the tropical family Samydaceae (former Flacourtiaceae) and the preparation of a monograph of the genus Casearia in south-central Asia (13 spp.). Her research interests are in plant systematics, including floristics, molecular phylogenetics, and phytogeography, particularly in southern and southeastern Asia.

E-mail: tsamarakoon [at] emory [dot] edu

Tel: (404) 727-4865

Student Volunteers

Undergraduate volunteers make up an important part of the Emory Herbarium team! Students are eligible to contribute to GEO activities through several mechanisms: research credit in biology (BIOL 399/499), SIRE program, SURE program, IMSD program, and volunteering. Interested students should contact Dr. Quave by email (cquave [at] emory [dot] edu), providing a current CV and statement of interest. Below is a list of student team members by academic year:

Current: 

Past:

2020 Spring: Alice Yang, Andrew Pahnke, Angel Barrueta, Ann Maria Velez, Bijia Wang, Burhan Mubeen, Elena Eubank, Tanika Deuskar, Tito Tomei, Toyin Balogun, Tsian Ramarattan

2019 Fall: Ann Felicia Sinsuan, Burhan Mubeen, Daisy Li, Denver Roberts, Emily Edwards, Sanne Glastra, Tanika Deuskar

2019 Summer: Ann Felicia Sinsuan, Benjamin Hecker (Ben), Ocean Wu, Osayamen Atekha, Simone Meyer

2019 Spring: Anjali Mann, Anna Wassel, Burhan Mubeen, Claire Torre, Courtney Andrews, Daisy Li, Emily Edwards, Georgia Lynn Spies, Gloria Jung, Jordan Argrett, Loy Xingwen, Nia Dubon-Robinson, Rachel Deininger, Tanika Deuskar, Thalia Le, Zhuoran Wei

2018 Fall: Angelina Tran, Anjali Mann, Anna Wassel, Burhan Mubeen, Claire Torre, Daisy Li, Denver Roberts, Georgia Lynn Spies, Gloria Jung, Nguyen Hung, Jordan Argrett, Kate Frances Chandler, Nathan Mullil Jacob, Nia Dubon-Robinson, Rachel Deininger, Tanika Deuskar, Loy Xingwen, Zoe Price

2018 Summer: Apple Liu, Haejin Kang, Iris Mao, Luis Freddy, Max Bao, Olivia Lowery, Richard Zhang, Sophia Xian

2018 Spring: Asma Syed, Caroline Mclaughlin, Cassidy Rothfeder, Chazz Jordan, Hannan Sylla, Jessie Moore, Jimmy Zang, Laramie Smith, Leah Scott, Loy Xingwen, Michelle Lin, Nick Richwagen, Olivia Lowery, Prathyusha Kandala, Sarah Hanson, Wayne Wen, Will Fan, Zachary Cooper

2017 Fall: Amber Strickland, Anderson Tran, Andrew Bi, Annie Schiffer, Apple Liu, Ashely Park, Caroline Mclaughlin, Cassidy Rothfeder, Chazz Jordan, Elise Stumpf, Grace Shen, Hannan Sylla, Jessie Moore, Jimmy Zang, Kelly Ta, Leah Scott, Loy Xingwen, Maria Lopera, Michelle Lin, Nick Richwagen, Prathyusha Kandala, Rozenn Pineau, Sarah Hanson, Triston Charlston, Will Fan

2017 Summer: Leah Scott, Mengqing Xu, Minzhen Liu, Olivia Lowery, Sarah Ye

2017 Spring: Apple Liu, Claudia Tan, Janis Choi, Jennie Sun, Kousha Hedayati, Mengqing Xu, Teresa Pan, Toyin Balogun, Wenying Zhu

2016 Fall: Bethany Cagle, Brian Son, Caren Oberg, Cloudia Tan, Deula Santhoshkumar, Jennie Sun, Katie Dewolf, Kelley lou, Kousha Hedayati, Wenying Zhu

2016 Summer: Andrew Cook, Caren Oberg, Carol Clark, Caroline Hryczyk, Chengcheng Qiu, Deula Santhoshkumar, Wenying Zhu, Xinyi Jiang

2016 Spring: Amber Feng, Chengcheng Qiu, Julie Fowler, Karin Chow, Lindita Camaj, Nandar Soe, Nathan Chou, Sybil Bridges, Wenying Zhu

2015 Fall: Aliviana Najjar, Bhavana Kumar, Camelle Steger, Chengcheng Qiu, Jenn Ko, Jessie Moor, Malika Gutek, Nathan Chou, Stefanie Pierce

2015 Summer: Austin Kim, Cheng Wei Lo, Janica Patel, Jessie Cai, Jiawei Li, Micah Dettweiler, Xena Huang, Yasmin Khansari