Cassandra Quave is an amputee, mother, explorer, scientist, and inventor. She is the author of The Plant Hunter: A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Medicines, which weaves together science, botany, and memoir to tell us the extraordinary story of her own journey to discover new solutions for the antibiotic resistance crisis. The Plant Hunter received starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus, received the James. A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award and was named one of the best nonfiction books of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews. Cassandra writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter on Substack and her work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Conversation. She is passionate about science communication, is co-creator and host of the Foodie Pharmacology podcast, and was awarded the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communication in 2022.

In 2024, Cassandra was named a CNN Champion for Change, Guggenheim Fellow, and Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. She is also a Fellow of the Explorer’s Club and Flag Carrier for WINGS Women of Discovery, and has led expeditions in the Balkans, Africa, South America, and the Mediterranean. Her day job is as an Associate Professor of Dermatology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, where she also serves as Herbarium Curator and Assistant Dean of Research Cores. She serves on the advisory council of the American Botanical Council and the board of the Beneficial Plant Research Association. She holds a BS in Biology and Anthropology and PhD in Biology.

At Emory, Cassandra leads a research team that searches for new antibiotics from plants. Her discoveries have led to the issuance of eight patents, the spin-out of two biotech companies, and the publication of >130 scientific works. Her research has been the subject of feature profiles in the New York Times Magazine, BBC Science Focus, National Geographic Magazine, NPR, PBS, and the National Geographic Channel.

Cassandra tours widely and enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for scientific discovery and love for the natural world with the public. As a disabled person since birth with mobility impairments, Cassandra is passionate about making science and adventure accessible to all. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, four children, and their pets (dog and pot-bellied pig). When not at the university or in the field collecting plants, she spends her time with family immersed in nature on a ranch in a small town in Florida, where she grew up.