Here is the short version. For how I got to this point, see the long version.
Research interests
- Global patterns of plant use, particularly of fibre and medicinal plants.
- History of plant use through related collections and institutions, from prehistory to present.
- The role of arts, humanities and social sciences in extending and amplifying research and public engagement in botanic gardens
- Locating, using and analysing ethnobotanical data, particularly from historic sources; also databases and data standards.
- Specialist curation of economic botany collections including data standards and object conservation.
- Public outreach through on and off-site use of botanic gardens and digital media.
Career
2018-
Science Directorate, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Senior Research Leader, Interdisciplinary Research & Curator, Economic Botany Collection
2015-2018
Science Directorate, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Curator & Research Leader, Economic Botany Collection
2005-2014
Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Curator, Economic Botany Collection
1999-2004
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Higher Scientific Officer, Centre for Economic Botany/Sustainable Uses of Plants
1999
Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. Three-year Wainwright Post-Doctoral Fellowship, ‘Early Neolithic diet and environment in the northern fertile crescent’. Resigned in order to take up Kew post.
1998
British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara: One-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship, ‘Archaeobotany of Anatolia’.
Honorary posts
2017-
Visiting Professor, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway - University of London.
2010-
Honorary Associate Professor, Institute of Archaeology, UCL
Science Directorate, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Senior Research Leader, Interdisciplinary Research & Curator, Economic Botany Collection
2015-2018
Science Directorate, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Curator & Research Leader, Economic Botany Collection
2005-2014
Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Curator, Economic Botany Collection
1999-2004
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Higher Scientific Officer, Centre for Economic Botany/Sustainable Uses of Plants
1999
Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. Three-year Wainwright Post-Doctoral Fellowship, ‘Early Neolithic diet and environment in the northern fertile crescent’. Resigned in order to take up Kew post.
1998
British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara: One-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship, ‘Archaeobotany of Anatolia’.
Honorary posts
2017-
Visiting Professor, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway - University of London.
2010-
Honorary Associate Professor, Institute of Archaeology, UCL
Education
Ph.D., Institute of Archaeology, UCL (1994-97).
Thesis "Archaeobotanical identification of Near Eastern grass seeds". Supervisors: Gordon Hillman (UCL); Tom Cope (Kew). NERC funded.
1983-84 M.Sc. in Bioarchaeology, Institute of Archaeology, London.
1980-83 B.Sc. (Hons) Agricultural Botany, University of Reading.
Thesis "Archaeobotanical identification of Near Eastern grass seeds". Supervisors: Gordon Hillman (UCL); Tom Cope (Kew). NERC funded.
1983-84 M.Sc. in Bioarchaeology, Institute of Archaeology, London.
1980-83 B.Sc. (Hons) Agricultural Botany, University of Reading.
Funding
2021. British Academy. Knowledge Frontiers. Reconciling Medical Knowledge Communities: Learning from the History of Indian Plant Drugs. £200k (PI, with Trans Disciplinary University, Bengaluru)
2020. Arts and Humanities Research Council. Plant Humanities: Where Arts, Humanities and Plants meet (AHRC Where Next? Programme). AH/V005812/1. £147k (CI with Felix Driver, Royal Holloway).
2019. Wellcome Trust. Plants and minerals in Byzantine popular pharmacy: a new multidisciplinary approach. £350k (CI, with Barbara Zipser, Royal Holloway)
2019. British Academy. Knowledge Frontiers. Digital repatriation of biocultural collections: connecting scientific and indigenous communities of knowledge in Amazonia. £50k. (CI with Luciana Martins, Birkbeck)
2016. British Council. Mobilising the value of biocultural collections in Brazil. £60,000 (with William Milliken, Viviane Kruel).
2016. Arts and Humanities Research Council. The Mobile Museum: Economic botany in circulation. £780,000 (with Felix Driver, Royal Holloway).
2015. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain. The flora of ancient Iraq: a scientific approach to ancient texts. €10,500 (with Bárbara Boeck, Shahina Ghazanfar)
2015. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Digital Amazon workshop. £20,000 (with William Milliken, Luciana Martins)
2015. Arts and Humanities Research Council. Situating Pacific barkcloth in time and place. £740,000 (with Frances Lennard, Adrienne Kaeppler)
2013. Kings College London. Cataloguing and rehousing of Harrod Materia Medica collection. £45,000
2013. Private donor, Houston. Conservation of Japanese paper collection. £6000
2013. SYNTHESYS (EU FP7). Hosting of course on curation of economic botany collections. £3000
2012. Arts and Humanities Research Council. Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA): Barkcloth as material culture. £60,000 (with Susanne Kuechler)
2008. Private donor, London. Conservation of Japanese wooden panels. £5000
2006. Wellcome Trust. Recataloguing of Cinchona collections. £10,000 (with Monique Simmonds)
2004. Culture Online (DCMS). Plant Cultures website and outreach project. £400,000 (with Monique Simmonds)
1998. Oriental Institute, University of Oxford. Postdoctoral research fellowship. £90,000
1997. British Institute at Ankara. Postdoctoral research fellowship. £20,000
1994. NERC. Research fellowship, Institute of Archaeology, UCL. £80,000 (with Gordon Hillman)
2020. Arts and Humanities Research Council. Plant Humanities: Where Arts, Humanities and Plants meet (AHRC Where Next? Programme). AH/V005812/1. £147k (CI with Felix Driver, Royal Holloway).
2019. Wellcome Trust. Plants and minerals in Byzantine popular pharmacy: a new multidisciplinary approach. £350k (CI, with Barbara Zipser, Royal Holloway)
2019. British Academy. Knowledge Frontiers. Digital repatriation of biocultural collections: connecting scientific and indigenous communities of knowledge in Amazonia. £50k. (CI with Luciana Martins, Birkbeck)
2016. British Council. Mobilising the value of biocultural collections in Brazil. £60,000 (with William Milliken, Viviane Kruel).
2016. Arts and Humanities Research Council. The Mobile Museum: Economic botany in circulation. £780,000 (with Felix Driver, Royal Holloway).
2015. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain. The flora of ancient Iraq: a scientific approach to ancient texts. €10,500 (with Bárbara Boeck, Shahina Ghazanfar)
2015. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Digital Amazon workshop. £20,000 (with William Milliken, Luciana Martins)
2015. Arts and Humanities Research Council. Situating Pacific barkcloth in time and place. £740,000 (with Frances Lennard, Adrienne Kaeppler)
2013. Kings College London. Cataloguing and rehousing of Harrod Materia Medica collection. £45,000
2013. Private donor, Houston. Conservation of Japanese paper collection. £6000
2013. SYNTHESYS (EU FP7). Hosting of course on curation of economic botany collections. £3000
2012. Arts and Humanities Research Council. Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA): Barkcloth as material culture. £60,000 (with Susanne Kuechler)
2008. Private donor, London. Conservation of Japanese wooden panels. £5000
2006. Wellcome Trust. Recataloguing of Cinchona collections. £10,000 (with Monique Simmonds)
2004. Culture Online (DCMS). Plant Cultures website and outreach project. £400,000 (with Monique Simmonds)
1998. Oriental Institute, University of Oxford. Postdoctoral research fellowship. £90,000
1997. British Institute at Ankara. Postdoctoral research fellowship. £20,000
1994. NERC. Research fellowship, Institute of Archaeology, UCL. £80,000 (with Gordon Hillman)
Professional service
Service roles (current)
Reviewer
- Scientific Publications Committee, Kew
- Grant Review Panel, Kew
- Vice-President, British Society for the History of Pharmacy
Reviewer
- Peer Review College, Arts & Humanities Research Council
- Funding proposals for NERC; ESRC; NSF; Polish Science Council; Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research; Israel Research Foundation; Palm Society.
- Editorial Board of Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine; Pharmaceutical Historian
- Regular reviewer for Economic Botany, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Journal of Ethnobiology & Ethnomedicine; Ethnobotanical Research & Applications; Journal of Archaeological Science; Vegetation History & Archaeobotany; Science; Plos One; occasional reviewer for many other journals.
