Director and Wm. L. Brown Curator:

Rainer Bussmann is an ethnobotanist, vegetation ecologist, and conservationist. He holds a Ph.D. from University of Bayreuth, and a M.S. from University of Tübingen (Germany). Before coming to the WLBC, Dr. Bussmann held academic appointments as a Research Fellow in Geography and the Environment at UT Austin, Associate Professor and Scientific Director of Harold Lyon Arboretum at University of Hawaii, and as Assistant Professor at University of Bayreuth. Currently, Dr Bussmann focuses his efforts on ethnobotanical research and the preservation of the ecological diversity and cultural heritage in threatened regions of South America, East Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
email: rainer.bussmann@mobot.org
webpage: click here

Alice H. Brown Curator of Ethnobotany:

Jan Salick, Ph.D., works on ecological ethnobotany, in situ indigenous management and conservation of cassava germplasm, and in situ sustainability of Tibetan plant genetic resources in southwestern China. She is a Past President of the Society for Economic Botany and on the boards of the Association for Ttropical Biology and International Union of Biological Sciences, and on the Committee on Traditional Knowledge and Science of the International Council of Scientific Unions.
email: jan.salick@mobot.org
webpage: click here

Associate Curator:

Armand Randrianasolo, Ph.D., is an authority on the flora of Madagascar, particularly members of the cashew family, Anacardiaceae.
email: armand.randrianasolo@mobot.org
webpage: click here

Assistant Curator:

Wendy Applequist, Ph.D., works on the authentication, taxonomy, conservation, and chemical variability of medicinal plants and conducts systematic studies of endemic plants of Madagascar.
email: wendy.applequist@mobot.org
webpage: click here

Research Fellow:

Shonil Bhagwat, Ph.D., earned his Ph.D. at Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. After graduation, he held a post-doc for three years at the Natural History Museum in London as part of the Biodiversity World Project. He currently hold a post-doc at Oxford University Centre for the Environment. At the WLBC, he will survey the biodiversity of a number of sacred sites in India in order to assess the effects of climate change on mountain tops in the Himalayas.

Research Specialists:

Ken Bauer completed his doctorate at Oxford University in 2008. His research interests include pastoralism, ecological ethnobotany, and the interactions among plants, people, and the environment. Ken will be working in the Himalayas on the GLORIA climate change project with Jan Salick.
email: ken.bauer@mobot.org
webpage: click here

Ashley Glenn received a B.S. in Botany from Colorado State Univ. She manages the WLBC's Sacred Seeds program, for which she is setting up a Sacred Seed garden at MBG. She also works in Peru, where she conducts field research and oversees the MHIRT ethnobotany research and bioassay program in Trujillo.
email: ashley.glenn@mobot.org
webpage: click here

Robbie Hart earned his B.A. in Linguistics at Swarthmore College. He's conducted fieldwork in Nepal, and studied how systems of traditional ecological knowledge are packaged in indigenous languages. Currently, Robbie's pursuing a PhD. in Biology at University of Missouri St. Louis and working with Dr. Jan Salick to study Ethnobotanical approaches to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in northwest Yunnan.
email: robbie.hart@mobot.org

Katie Konchar earned her B.S. in Biology at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and her M.Sc. in Botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she worked on the ethnobotany and biochemical ecology of Traditional Chinese Medicines in southwest China. Katie works on Himalayan ethnobotany with Jan Salick, studying the vegetation dynamics and human interactions with climate change in high alpine environments.
email: katie.konchar@mobot.org

Alyse R. Kuhlman, B.A. in Anthropology and Environmental Studies, manages the DNA Bank, organizes the ICBG Madagascar collection in the herbarium, and coordinates the Madagascar Ethnobotany program with the MBG-Antananaraivo office. Through the Madagascar Ethnobotany program, Alyse supports graduate students from the Univ. of Madagascar in ethnobotanical field training. She is interested in the use of plants in traditional medicine and home gardens, small scale agriculture, and food recipes.
email: alyse.kuhlman@mobot.org
webpage: click here

Gonzalo Malca is a chemist. He graduated as chemical engineer from National University from Trujillo (Peru) in 2007. Gonzalo is currently managing WLBC’s program on antibacterial bioassays and toxicity studies of Peruvian medicinal plants and plant mixtures employed in traditional medicine.

Karen Meyer received a B.S. in Botany from BYU and an M.S. in Biological Sciences from SD State Univ. She has conducted field research in the Kingdom of Tonga, West Africa, and Bolivia. At the WLBC, she will be identifying and collecting plants of North America for the ongoing collaboration projects with NCNPR at the Univ. of Mississippi.
email: karen.meyer@mobot.org
webpage: click here

Fortunat Rakotoarivony manages the WLBC’s project at Ambalabe, Madagascar. He also facilitates good relations between MBG, local government, and partner organizations. Fortunat also supervises local students studying ethnobotany.
email:fortunat.rakotoarivony@mobot-mg.org

Lucien Rasoaviety coordinates all the field work for the Ambalabe project in Madagascar and maintains the WLBC's good relationship with the community and others working at the site.

Aina Razanatsima is a field botanist monitoring the permanent plot in Ambalabe forest and conducting the plant inventory.

Carolina Téllez is a botanist and conservationist. Carolina participates in WLBC’s field collection program and coordinates the collection activities of WLBC in Peru, including specimen processing and identification, as well as the permitting process.

Andrew Townesmith, MS in Botany. The focus of his work has been the relationship between people and plants. He is also interested in biodiversity informatics., esp. enhancing access to the biodiversity data that is currently available. He has done field work in the Northwestern US, New England, and Central America.
email: andrew.townesmith@mobot.org

Support Staff:

Barbara Alongi, B.A., Fine Arts, is the WLBC's botanical illustrator.
email: barbara.alongi@mobot.org

John Effio coordinates laboratory logistics for the WLBC bioassay program in Peru.

Bruce Ponman, B.A., is the WLBC's web developer.
email: bruce.ponman@mobot.org

Carlos Vega coordinates all the field logistics for the Chilchos floristics and conservation coffee project and maintains the WLBC's good relationship with the community and others working at the site. As president of WLBC’s partner NGO INBIAPERU, Carlos is implementing WLBC’s conservation efforts in the Amazonas and San Martin regions, and is responsible for the market development of conservation products.

Malagasy Graduate Students:

Dimbilala Rabearivony is working on a project studying medicinal plants species employed by the male healers.

Felantsoa Raveloson Tolonjanahary is studying the role of the women concerning the traditional health-care system.

Herisitraka Lanto Nahiana Ratsaralaza is part of a project to develop a conservation strategy for medicinal plants species growing in the future Protected area of Agnalazaha forest Mahabo- Magnanivo.

Nambinintsoa Mendrika Razafindraibe is studying the role of the women concerning the traditional health-care system.

Tolojanahary Nirina Maria Randriamiharisoa is studying the medicinal plant market in Antananarivo, analyzing plant origin, volume of trade, and the strategies of perpetuation of the suppliers and salesmen’s activities.

Bolivian Graduate Students

Rodrigo Quiroga is conducting an ethnobotanical study on the diversity of traditional medicinal plants used by the Guaraní of the Huacareta Region in Chuquisaca, Southeastern Bolivia.

Lidia Meneses is conducting an ethnobotanical study on the diversity of traditional medicinal plants used by the Guaraní of the Huacareta Region in Chuquisaca, Southeastern Bolivia.

Serena Achá is from Bolivia, and will be working on a project involving the traditional knowledge and taxonomy of the genus Prunus (Rosaceae) in the Madidi region of Bolivia.