25 November 2009

Searching remote Pacific Islands for new cures

Dr Paul Cox, a world-renowned ethnobotanist who has spent three decades searching the rainforests of Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands for new medicines, will discuss his experiences when he delivers a lecture in Dundee next week.

‘Searching Remote Pacific Islands for New Cures’ is the latest in the Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s ‘Inspiring People’ Talks Programme, and takes place at the University of Dundee on Tuesday, December 1st.

Dr Cox’s work on herbal remedies from Samoa led to the development of the antiviral drug prostatin. He speaks a variety of island languages and is internationally renowned for his advocacy of indigenous peoples, for which he received the Rachel Carson Award.

His concern and enthusiasm for the languages and cultures of island peoples led him to establish Seacology, an international non-profit organisation which focuses on preserving endangered species, habitats and cultures of islands.

He has received the Goldman Environmental Prize for his efforts to protect island rainforests, and his current research centres on the causes of neurodegenerative illness including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

'It is crucial for scientists to look beyond our own traditions of scientific knowledge gathered over the years to other cultures, traditions and ways of knowing,' he said. 'Tribal knowledge represents tens of thousands of years of human experience. To lose it now, just when we have developed the scientific tools to evaluate it as a source of new drugs, crops, ecological insights and conservation techniques, would be extraordinarily short-sighted.'

The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is celebrating its 125th anniversary by organising its biggest ever programme of illustrated public talks to give people the opportunity to hear an outstanding line-up of inspirational speakers delivering a series of lectures on a wide range of geographical topics.

Dr Cox’s talk will take place at the University of Dundee’s Tower Extension Theatre from 7.30pm on Tuesday, December 1st. Admission is £6 for adults and free for under-18s, students and RSGS members.

For more information, please visit www.rsgs.org/), contact enquiries@rsgs.org, or call the organisation on 01738 455050.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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