Episode 1 of Under the Breadfruit features Dr Cassandra Leah Quave, an American ethnobotanist, herbarium curator, and associate professor at Emory University. Her research focuses on analyzing natural, plant-based medicine of Mediterranean indigenous cultures to help combat infectious disease and antibiotic resistance. Dr Quave joins us for a seat under the breadfruit tree to talk about her research and her philosophy on the global tradition of using plants for medicine. Her best advice for embodying traditional methods of healing is to treat our food as our medicine!

In Episode 2 the focus is on Dr Alvin Holder, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Old Dominion University (ODU). His research focus involves bioinorganic chemistry, which is currently funded by a NSF CAREER award. Since the start of his career, he has supported and supervised more than 100 undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral trainees both in Barbados and the U.S.A., many of whom are from underrepresented groups. Dr Holder graces us in our ‘yard’ to discuss his contribution to chemical education and research as he searches for new bioinorganic medicines.

Episode 3 highlights the career of Dr John de la Parra who is an ethnobotanist and plant chemist with expertise in food crops and medicinal plants. His research has focused on new techniques for the optimization of valuable chemical attributes of plants in field and controlled environment agriculture, as well as the promotion of a sustainable food system that includes the knowledge held by indigenous populations. John is the Manager of the Global Food Portfolio at The Rockefeller Foundation where he works to advance a more nourishing and sustainable food system. He drives programming, grantmaking, performance, and partnership within The Global Food Portfolio, including two core programs – the Food System Vision Prize and the Periodic Table of Food.

Episode 4 looks at the importance of Breadfruit to the Caribbean through the lens of eminent researcher in the field of Agriculture, Professor Laura Roberts-Nkrumah. Roberts-Nkrumah, who is Professor of Crop Science and Production, Department of Food Production, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, began actively working on breadfruit in the 1990’s but had already started gathering information long before that. She believes that not only can this underdeveloped and neglected species satisfy nutritional requirements in the Caribbean and help in the fight against non-communicable diseases but also significantly contribute to entrepreneurial opportunities through food and non-food applications.