Cassandra Quave

Cassandra Leah Quave (born June 2, 1978) is an American ethnobotanist, herbarium curator, and associate professor at Emory University. Her research focuses on analyzing natural, plant-based medicine of indigenous cultures to help combat infectious disease and antibiotic resistance. In particular, she studies bacterial biofilm inhibition and quorum-sensing inhibition of botanical extracts for inflammatory skin conditions.

Early life and education Childhood Born in Arcadia, Florida, Quave's interest in science and medicine began early, stemming from the extended time she spent in hospitals. This experience would provide the basis of her adolescent science fair project about drug resistance in Escherichia coli, as well as her later research projects.

Undergraduate education In her undergraduate years at Emory University, she pursued a double bachelor's of science in Human Biology as well as Anthropology, which she earned in 2000. A college course in tropical ecology coupled with trips to Peru shifted her interest from medical school to instead pursuing a PhD through researching ethnobotany. In Peru, she saw the work of a traditional medicine man on children with parasitic worm infections in villages without access to pharmaceutical drugs. To her, the encounter illustrated how modern Western medicine has undermined the usefulness of traditional medicine.

Research contributions Bacterial biofilm inhibition The defensive mechanism of bacterial biofilms in resisting antimicrobial drugs comes from the ability of microbes to develop and hide within a protective extracellular matrix. Quave's work during her first post-doctoral fellowship focused on the significant biofilm-inhibiting activity of 10 individual botanical extracts from unique species of plants, something she believes could be utilized in new drug therapies. Since then, one of her current research projects focuses on finding the specific compounds in the elmleaf blackberry plant (Rubus ulmifolius) that contribute to the property. Her focus has been upon both the Brazilian pepper tree extracts (Schinus terebinthifolia) and the European chestnut (Castanea sativa). According to Quave, these QSI extracts could help in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

Selected publications Books In 2021, Quave published "The Plant Hunter", a memoir focused on searching for plants with medicinal potential.

Academic research