Dr. Ina Vandebroek joined The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, in 2021. She is Professor (Full) of Ethnobotany, and Graduate Coordinator of the MPhil/PhD Programme in Ethnobotany and Ethnobiology. Prospective graduate students are warmly encouraged to reach out to discuss their research interests and potential supervision.

Dr. Vandebroek collaborates closely with local communities to explore the deep-rooted connections between cultural knowledge traditions and Caribbean biodiversity. With more than 25 years of research experience and international collaboration across Latin America, the Caribbean, and New York City among the Caribbean diaspora, her work bridges ethnobotany, conservation, community well-being, and social justice. Her current projects in Jamaica focus on strengthening traditional knowledge systems and safeguarding culturally important plant diversity to support community health, food security, and sustainable livelihoods. She also participates in projects and initiatives to reassess the conservation status of endemic Jamaican plant species, contributing to national and international biodiversity policy discussions. Dr. Vandebroek’s research highlights the enduring importance of wild and semi-domesticated plants in local communities, demonstrating how these species continue to sustain cultural heritage even amid global biodiversity loss and transformations in traditional knowledge systems. An applied dimension of her work involves developing curricular materials and training programmes for healthcare providers that recognize and respect the cultural knowledge, beliefs, and plant-based practices of Caribbean patients, thereby promoting culturally responsive healthcare. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of Ethnobotany and Economic Botany, the flagship journal of the Society for Ethnobotany published by Springer. Dr. Vandebroek is fluent in Dutch, English, and Spanish, speaks Flemish at home, and champions Jamaican Patois as a vital expression of cultural identity.

Publications and Presentations:  See Prof. Vandebroek's CV