Eduardo Jovel, Ph.D

Dr. Eduardo Jovel is a Associate Professor and Director, Indigenous Research Partnerships in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems of UBC. His expertise is in ethnobotany, natural product chemistry, mycology, food security, and Aboriginal health. His interests are focused on Indigenous peoples worldviews and their use of ecosystem resources to maintain health and wellness, particularly plants and fungi used in traditional medicine. In the last 20 years, he has taken an active role in Aboriginal health research, including Indigenous medicinal systems, food security, environmental health and conservation, research ethics, and Indigenous research methodologies. He has worked in Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, New Zealand, Dominican Republic, United States, and Canada addressing health issues affecting Aboriginal people including environmental contaminants in traditional foods; impact of indoor moulds in Aboriginal housing, food insecurity, and food sovereignty. He strives to integrate inter-professional research practices and education, and merge Indigenous knowledge traditions and Western academic interdisciplinary positions and cultural contexts. He has worked with DAFTD IDRC Canadian International Food Security Research Fund in Peru, and the UBC-CIDA project of eco-health in Ecuador. He has been active working in the Global Mercury Project exploring the potential of using vegetables and fruits in the removal of mercury from the body of contaminated individuals.