Nina Etkin
Encyclopedia
Nina L. Etkin was an anthropologist
and biologist
. Dr. Etkin was noted for her work in medical anthropology
, ethnobiology
, and ethnopharmacology
. She studied the relation between food and health for over thirty years. Her work involved complementary and alternative medicines for prevention and treatment in Hawaii; the use of ethnomedicines in Indonesia; and health issues in Nigeria. She won numerous grants and awards from national and international agencies and published several books as well as over 80 professional articles in peer reviewed journals.
from Indiana University
in 1970 and her MA and PhD in Anthropology in 1972 and 1975 from Washington University in St. Louis
, Missouri.
She was also a member of the medical faculty of the University of Hawaii.
She was a Fellow of the Linnean Society and a past president and honorary board member of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology.
Dr. Etkin won the 2009 Distinguished Economic Botanist Award from the Society of Economic Botany.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
. Dr. Etkin was noted for her work in medical anthropology
Medical anthropology
Medical anthropology is an interdisciplinary field which studies "human health and disease, health care systems, and biocultural adaptation". It views humans from multidimensional and ecological perspectives...
, ethnobiology
Ethnobiology
]Ethnobiology is the scientific study of dynamic relationships between peoples, biota, and environments, from the distant past to the immediate present....
, and ethnopharmacology
Ethnopharmacology
Ethnopharmacology is the scientific study of ethnic groups and their use of drugs.Ethnopharmacology is distinctly linked to plant use, botany, as this is the main delivery of pharmaceuticals. It is also often associated with ethnopharmacy...
. She studied the relation between food and health for over thirty years. Her work involved complementary and alternative medicines for prevention and treatment in Hawaii; the use of ethnomedicines in Indonesia; and health issues in Nigeria. She won numerous grants and awards from national and international agencies and published several books as well as over 80 professional articles in peer reviewed journals.
Education and academic career
Etkin earned her undergraduate degree in zoologyZoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
from Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in 1970 and her MA and PhD in Anthropology in 1972 and 1975 from Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, Missouri.
Academic positions
- Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of MinnesotaUniversity of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, 1979-1983 - Associate Professor, University of Minnesota, 1983-1990
- Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of HawaiiUniversity of HawaiiThe University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, 1990-1994 - Full Professor of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, 1994-2009.
- Chair of the Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, 2001-2002
She was also a member of the medical faculty of the University of Hawaii.
Awards and honors
Etkin served as Editor in Chief of Economic Botany, the journal of the Society of Economic Botany.She was a Fellow of the Linnean Society and a past president and honorary board member of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology.
Dr. Etkin won the 2009 Distinguished Economic Botanist Award from the Society of Economic Botany.
Books
- Plants in Indigenous Medicine & Diet: Biobehavioral Approaches, 1986
- Eating on the Wild Side: The Pharmacologic, Ecologic, and Social Implications of Using Noncultigens, 1994
- Edible Medicines: An Ethnopharmacology of Food, 2008
- Foods of Association: Biocultural Perspectives on Food and Beverages that Mediate Sociability, 2009