Keywords

  • alternative and integrative herbal medicine
  • anitparastic and antibacterial natural drugs
  • chemical biology/ecology of plant natural chemicals
  • chemical defense cascades
  • chemical ecology of plantX insect interactions
  • chemical ecology of tropical interactions
  • environmental toxicology
  • internationall undergraduate and graduatetraining
  • natural chemical biology
  • pharmacognosy
  • pharmacology of antitumor and antidiabetic plants
  • small molecules and chemical genetics
  • tropical medicinal chemistry
  • trropical biodiversity
  • zoopharmacognosy

Rodriguez, Eloy

Professor
As the James A. Perkins endowed Professor and Research Scientist at Cornell, I have devoted my professional life to the chemical biology. ecology and medicinal chemistry and toxicology of natural small molecules and glycoproteins from plants and arthropods that are important in ecological and biological interactions and human and animal health and medicine. In collaboration with Dr. Richard Wrangham at Harvard we established the discipline of zoopharmacognosy (animal self medication with plants) and Chemo-ornithology (chemical ecology of bird-inect-plant interactions) with David Rosane from CUNY. I have developed a new undergraduate course and research program on the pharmacognosy, pharmacology and nutritional biochemistry of natural substance important for the control of diabetes type 2 and breast and pancreatic cancer in underrepresented communities in the US and Mexico. I have also devoted considerable time and effort to the training of hundreds of underrepresented undergraduate and graduate minority and majority students in the sciences at Cornell and the University of California, Irvine. A plethora of these fine young women and men at Cornell and UCI are now medical doctors, health specialists, research Professors, pharmaceutical scientists, biologists and environmental ecologists.

research

research and scholarship focus

My research focus is the chemistry, evolution, and function of natural small molecules and lectins (glycoproteins) biosynthesized in plants and arthropods. The research is multidiciplinary in nature, and involves various fields of investigation. In the area of chemical ecology of tropical and desert ecosystems we are investigating the orgin and evolution of biochemical defense cascades in plants-insects-frogs and birds. In health and medicine, we are developing novel biomedicines from plants and arthropods for treating major health disparities, especially diabetes type two and breast cancer in underrepresented communities of the US and international poor communities in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Middle East and the Amazon basin We sre elucidating the chemical structures of novel Nature-based molecules that exhibit anticancer and antidiabetic activity. We are supported by the NIH and the NSF.

co investigator of

research areas

international geographic focus

affiliations

faculty appointment in

member of graduate field

other Cornell affiliations

teaching

teaching focus

My Instructional focus is the teaching of the latest studies in the area Plant Health and Plant Medicne and Chemical Ecology. I also focus on alternative and complimentary medicine which involves medicinal plants and nutritional natural products. My course, "The Healing Forest (BioPl348) attracts over 100 students every Spring semester. I also teaching a new undergraduate course, “Plant Cures and EthnoHealth” (BioG400), for the Fall 2007. Graduate students are primarily involved with plant and arthropod nat ural products chemistry and understanding the cell biology of breast and pancreatic cancer and diabetes type 2. Other students are involved in chemical ecology and evolution of defensiive compounds in tropical and desert ecosystems. Postdoctoral and graduate students fellows focus primarily on biomecines for cancer and diabetes. For the last 11 years I have established the MIRT-MHIRT-CURB programs supproted by NIH and Cornell that provide international biomedical research opportunites to minority and majorty undergraduates and graduates in the Caribbean, Mexico and Amazon Basin.

service

outreach focus

My Outreach focus is on public health amd medical education, especially of underrepresented minorities and poor urban and rural white communities in New York and throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean and latin America. I attend various natiional conferences on improving educational opportunities for young Latins/as. African Americans and American indians. Over 50% of my time is devoted to teaching, mentoring, tutoring and assisting minority and majority students involved in research and international resarch training, and biomedical courses and in health and nutritional education.
Keywords: alternative and integrative herbal medicine, anitparastic and antibacterial natural drugs, chemical biology/ecology of plant natural chemicals, chemical defense cascades, chemical ecology of plantX insect interactions, chemical ecology of tropical interactions, environmental toxicology, internationall undergraduate and graduatetraining, natural chemical biology, pharmacognosy, pharmacology of antitumor and antidiabetic plants, small molecules and chemical genetics, tropical medicinal chemistry, trropical biodiversity, zoopharmacognosy