Marija is a research scientist-turned-clinical herbalist, practicing in Colorado since 2010. In this episode, Marija talks to us about the fascinating world of endophytes, their surprising influence on the herbal medicine we make, and explains the difference between good and bad research articles.

Before becoming an herbalist, she spent a dozen years as a research scientist, focusing on cancer and infectious disease. Despite the high-tech past, Marija's focus as an herbalist is a simple and holistic approach to health that integrates botanical tradition with a critical evaluation of what botanical research science has to say.

Marija has been studying herbs, mushrooms, and essential oils intensely since 2008. As a clinical herbalist, Marija helps people to take charge of their health and reconnect with the green world of which we're all a part. As a writer and teacher, the goal is the same, simply on a larger scale. A goal, in particular, is to use her background in biomedical science as a bridge to introduce botanical medicine to those not already on the bandwagon.

Marija studied botanical medicine with Pam Fisher at the Berkeley Herbal Center (formally the Ohlone Center of Herbal Studies), with Kathi Keville at the Green Medicine Herb School, and shorter stints with others herbalists.

She earned her doctorate in microbiology from the University of Washington School of Medicine while studying cancer-promoting mechanisms of human papillomavirus, the primary cause of cervical cancer. Her postdoctoral research on dengue virus replication was through the School of Public Health at the University of California-Berkeley. She was an infectious diseases trainee at the UW Center for AIDS & STD and an infectious diseases fellow through UC San Francisco Division of Infectious Diseases.

Marija grew up running wild in the woods. (Well, at least 'til sunset.)

Useful links
https://www.osadha.com/
Cannabis-endophytes-an-answer-to-a-question/
Plant Healer Quarterly
Think-youre-making-herbal-medicine-think-again/
The-sequel-your-herbal-medicines-are-more-complicated-than-you-may-know/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC114400/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1262621/
https://academic.oup.com/carcin/article/24/2/159/2608371
FB: https://www.facebook.com/osadhanaturalhealthdurango
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWNnHwGkEyV3RUNz-eGZqtg
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-marija-helt-phd-814106132/

To learn more about plants & your health from Colleen at LabAroma check out this informative PDF: https://www.labaroma-education.com/pl/2147628476