Nina Etkin
Professor and Graduate Chair
Department of Anthropology
Ph.D., Washington University, 1975
etkin@hawaii.edu
http://www2.soc.hawaii.edu/css/dept/anth/faculty/etkin/etkin.htm

Research Interests

  • Ethnopharmacology, Ethnobotany, Indigenous Medicinal Plants
  • Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM): prevention and treatment in the "informal sector" in contemporary Hawai?i – cultural constructions and social transactions of healing, ethics, implications for clinic policy.
  • Ethnomedicine in Eastern Indonesia: indigenous and western medicines in transition.
  • Health and therapeutics among Hausa in Nigeria: cultural constructions of Hausa medicine; indigenous medicines and diet; impact on indigenous therapeutics of introduced bio-medicines.
  • Co-Evolution of Parasites, Plants, and People: Oxidation and the mediation of Malaria, Inherited Red Cell Disorders, Pharmaceuticals, and Medicinal Plants

Selected Publications

(In Press): Etkin, N.L. Ethnopharmacology. In The Encyclopedia of Food.. S.H. Katz, ed. Charles Scribner. New York.
(In Press): Etkin, N.L. Contributions of Traditional Knowledge and Practices to the Conservation of Biodiversity. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Science and Technology in Biodiversity Conservation and Utilization. Xiao Pei-Gen, ed. Chinese Academy of Sciences. Beijing
(In Press): Etkin, N.L. M. do Céu de Madureira, and G. Burford. Guidelines for Ethnobotanical Studies on Traditional Antimalarials. In Traditional Medicines for Malaria. M. Willcox and G. Bodeker, eds. RITAM. Oxford, UK.
(In Press): Etkin, N.L., J.D. Baker, and J.N. Busch. Traditional Therapeutics. In Encyclopedia of Public Health. C.J.L. Murray, ed. Academic Press. San Diego, California
(In Press): Etkin, N.L. Nutraceuticals, Cosmeceuticals, and Antiaging Agents in US Popular Culture. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Lycium and Antiaging Agents. Xiao, Pei-Gen, editor. Ningxia, China.
(In Press): Etkin, N.L. The Future of Ethnobotany: Moving Fast, Going Where? In Ethnobotany in the Third Millennium: Expectations and Unresolved Issues. Aldo Moretti, ed. University of Naples Press. Naples, Italy.
(In Press): Etkin, N.L. and Paul J. Ross. Polypharmacy and the Elderly Cancer Patient: Rethinking “Noncompliance.” In Ethnogerontology and Ethnogeriatrics: Living and Healing Old Age in the World. A. Guerci, ed. Erga Edizioni. Genoa, Italy.
(In Press): Etkin, N.L. Practitioner Profile, Medical Ecological Approaches to Health. In Culture and Health: Applying Theoretical Concepts in Medical Anthropology. M. Winkelman. Harcourt Brace. New York.
2003: Etkin, N.L. The Co-Evolution of People, Plants, and Parasites: Biological and Cultural Adaptations to Malaria. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (UK) 62:1-7.
2003: Etkin, N.L. and H.L. McMillen. The Ethnobotany of Noni (Morinda citrifolia L., Rubiaceae): Dwelling in the Land between La?au Lapa?au and TestiNONials. In CTAHR Proceedings. S.C. Nelson, ed. Pp. 11-16. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. University of Hawai?i. Honolulu.
2002: Etkin, N.L. Local Knowledge of Biotic Diversity and its Conservation in Rural Hausaland, Northern Nigeria. Economic Botany 56(1):73-88.
2002. Etkin, N.L. and P.J. Ross. Polypharmacy and the Elderly Cancer Patient: Rethinking “Noncompliance.” In Living Old Age: The Western World and Modernization. A. Guerci and S. Consigliere, eds. Pp. 21-32, and CD-ROM. Erga Edizioni. Genoa, Italy.
2001: Etkin, N.L. Perspectives in Ethnopharmacology: Forging a Closer Link between Bioscience and Traditional Empirical Knowledge. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 76:177-182.
2000: Etkin, N.L. and P.J. Ross. The Ethnopharmacology of Fermented Medicinal Foods. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Ethnobotany – Mediicnal Plants, Folk Traditions: Ethnomedicine, History, and Pharmacology. R. Chaves, ed. Universidad Para La Paz. San José, Costa Rica. CD-ROM.
1999: Etkin, N.L., A.R. Dixon, P.W. Nishimoto, and P.J. Ross. Medicinal Foods in Multiethnic Honolulu, Hawai?i. In Cultural Food. A. Guerci, ed. Pp. 12-26. Erga Edizioni. Genoa, Italy.
1999: Dixon, A.R., H. McMillen, and N.L. Etkin. Ferment This: The Transformation of Noni, a Traditional Polynesian Medicine (Morinda citrifolia L.) Economic Botany 53:51-68.
1999: Etkin, N.L., P.J. Ross, and I. Muazzamu. The Rational Basis of "Irrational" Drug Use: Pharmaceuticals in the Context of "Development." In Anthropology in Public Health. R.A. Hahn, ed. Pp. 165-181. Oxford University Press. Oxford.