Talk
Medicinal Plants As Pillars of Health: Bridging Traditional Knowledge and Scientific Knowledge

Bio
Professor Vanessa Steenkamp is the Deputy Dean of Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria and holds a professorship in Pharmacology. Her pioneering work in traditional herbal medicine and toxicology has had a transformative impact on the scientific community, particularly in the field of pre-clinical drug development. Professor Steenkamp holds several prestigious leadership roles, including Council Member of the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, Immediate Past President of the South African Association of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, and Vice President of the Toxicology Society of South Africa. She is also Chair of the Executive Committee of the Education and Management Division of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Through these leadership roles, she has driven significant advances in scientific research capacity, education, and healthcare across Africa.

Talk
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Mediterranean Semi-Arid Areas: Biodiversity between Tradition and Innovation

Bio
Alessandra Carrubba graduated in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Palermo in 1986, where 6 years later she gained the role of Researcher. Since 2006 she is Associate Professor in the same University, at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences. During her whole career, she worked in the field of agronomical sciences and cropping management of field crops, with a special focus on farming systems including industrial field crops and medicinal and aromatic plants. Accordingly, she had a long teaching activity addressed to degree and master students, as well as to PhD students, involving official courses and tutorial activity for the planning and management of the final dissertation. The scientific activity was mainly addressed to sustainable cultivation techniques of Mediterranean native plants, including suitability to cultivation into marginal and resource-limited environments, organic and conventional Nitrogen fertilization, and sustainable weed management.