People

Dr. Cassandra L. Quave, Curator

10494447_1418670631688622_4686075456634534280_oCassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. holds a joint appointment as Assistant Professor of Dermatology in the Emory University School of Medicine and Center for the Study of Human Health in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences, where she leads drug discovery research initiatives and teaches undergraduate courses on medicinal plants, food and health. Dr. Quave received her B.S. in Biology and B.S. in Anthropology and Human Biology from Emory University in 2000. She completed her Ph.D. in Biology at Florida International University in 2008, postdoctoral training in Microbial Pathogenesis at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2011, and postdoctoral training in Human Health at Emory in 2012. An NIH-funded medical ethnobotanist, Dr. Quave’s research is focused on the documentation and analysis of botanical remedies used in the treatment of infectious disease. Her geographic region of focus is on the Mediterranean, with emphasis on Italy and the Balkans. To date, she has published more than 50 scientific works and has two edited books with Springer Press that were released this year: Innovative Strategies for Teaching in the Plant Sciences (Quave, Ed.) and Ethnobotany and Biocultural Diversities in the Balkans: Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Development and Reconciliation (Pieroni and Quave, Eds.). Dr. Quave currently serves as the President-Elect of the Society for Economic Botany, an international society with the mission of fostering research and education on the past, present, and future uses of plants by people.

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

Tel: (404) 727-7065

Dr. Tharanga Samarakoon, Collections Manager

IMG_1617Tharanga 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

Emory Herbarium Advisory Committee

In the Fall of 2014, the first Emory Herbarium Advisory Committee was formed to provide guidance on future directions for GEO research, education and outreach. The committee is composed of members with a broad range of expertise linked in different ways to the field of Botany. The membership represents various departments and schools across Emory University. Members are listed below in alphabetical order:

  • Jack Arbiser, MD. Advisory Committee Member.Thomas J. Lawley Professor of Dermatology (SOM)
  • Rebecca Stone Bailey, PhD. Advisory Committee Member. Professor of Art History (ECAS)
  • Peggy Barlett, PhD. Advisory Committee Member. Goodwich C. White Professor of Anthropology (ECAS)
  • Simon Blakey, PhD. Advisory Committee Member. Associate Professor of Chemistry (ECAS)
  • Berry Brosi, PhD. Advisory Committee Member. Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences (ECAS)
  • Eloise Carter, PhD. Advisory Committee Member. Professor of Biology (Oxford College)
  • W. Michael Caudle, PhD. Advisory Committee Member. Assistant Professor of Environmental Health (RSPH)
  • Roger Deal, PhD. Advisory Committee Member. Assistant Professor of Biology (ECAS)
  • Omer Kucuk, MD. Advisory Committee Member. Professor of Hematology-Oncology and Urology, Winship Cancer Institute (SOM)
  • Cassandra L. Quave, PhD. Curator and Advisory Committee Chair.  Assistant Professor of Dermatology (SOM) and Center for the Study of Human Health (ECAS)
  • Tharanga Samarakoon, PhD. GEO Collections Manager. Center for the Study of Human Heath (ECAS)
  • John Wegner, PhD. Advisory Committee Member. Senior Lecturer of Environmental Sciences (ECAS)

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