Honors & Awards

  • Society for Economic Botany President’s Award, in recognition of exceptional service to the society, 2023
  • Club Horticulture Commendation, Peachtree Garden Club and Cherokee Garden Club of Atlanta, Georgia, 2023
  • 2022 EmpowHER Award, Emory University inventor/innovator award, 2023
  • The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communication, Mid-Career to Later Career Research Scientists, 2022
  • 2022-2023 Flag Carrier Award from Wings World Quest, 2022
  • 2022 American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) Herbal Insight Award, 2022
  • 2021 American Botanical Council James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award, 2022 
  • Kirkus Reviews, included in list of Best Nonfiction Books of the Year (The Plant Hunter),  2021
  • Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society Recognition for Excellent Teaching, Emory University, 2020
  • Emory School of Medicine Researcher Appreciation Day Recognition, 2020
  • Awarded the Charles B. Heiser, Jr. Mentor Award by the Society for Economic Botany, 2019
  • Awarded the Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award at Emory University, 2019
  • Faculty Appreciation Award from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Emory University, 2018
  • Nominated for the Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, 2018
  • Selected for the Emory University Alumni “40 Under Forty” recognition program, Emory University, 2017
  • 2017 Emory School of Medicine Researcher Appreciation Day Recognition, 2017
  • Research/Scholarship Award 2015-2016, Emory School of Medicine Department of Dermatology, 2016
  • Emory Antibiotic Resistance Center, Travel Award for Advanced Course in Antibiotic Resistance, 2016
  • Competitively selected for Advanced Course on Antibiotics, Institut Merieux and Institut Pasteur, 2016
  • Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society Recognition for Excellent Teaching, 2015
  • Center for Faculty Development and Excellence, Scholarly Writing and Publishing Fund Award, 2015
  • Phytoneering Award, Global Research Initiative Competition, Bionorica SE, 2014
    • Global competitive award, only awardee from USA out of 20 awardees total
  • Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society Recognition for Excellent Teaching, 2014
  • Kavli Fellow, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Indonesia Symposium, 2014
    • One of a few select US scientists to be invited to the Kavli Frontiers in Science Symposium by the Indonesian Academy of Sciences – U.S. National Academy of Sciences
  • Harvard Business School Alumni New Venture Competition, Global Finalist, 2011
    • Business plan competition with PhytoTEK, science startup for antibiofilm technology
  • Harvard Business School Alumni New Venture Competition, Washington DC club competition winner, 2011
  • Harvard Business School Alumni New Venture Competition, New York club competition winner, 2011
  • Emory University, Faculty Development & Excellence Award, 2011
  • International Conference on Gram Positive Pathogens Travel Award, 2010
  • Open Science Network in Ethnobiology, Travel Award, 2010
  • 1st Place for Oral Presentation in the Category of Biology, Marine and Life Sciences, Florida International University Graduate Student Association Scholarly Forum, 2008
  • American Society of Pharmacognosy Graduate Student Poster Award, 2008
  • Botany in Action, Field Research Travel Award, 2007; 2008
  • The Edmund H. Fulling Award, 2007
    • Awarded for the best contributed oral paper by a junior professional at the annual meeting of the Society for Economic Botany
  • The National Charles R. Jenkins Award for Excellence in Anthropology, 2000