Over the last fifteen years, my research interests have concerned the common boundaries of Ethnobiology/Ethnobotany and Anthropology of Food/Medical Anthropology, i.e. the interdisciplinary studies on the perceptions and uses of plants in local diets and in Traditional Medicines, and their impact on the environment, the human and animal health, and the society at large.

In particular, my studies concern:
•  Food ethnobotany: Traditional Knowledge (TK) on uses and management/ecology of food plants (esp. wild and neglected taxa)
•  Traditional Medicines (TMs): use of medicinal plants, “food-medicines”, and other biological and ritual remedies, provision of health care within the households via diets and emic healing strategies
•  Ethnoveterinary: TK on plants used as fodder, for healing animals, or for improving the quality of dairy and other animal-derived food products

The focuses of my research have been ethnic minority groups and cultural boundaries in rural and “marginal” areas in the Mediterranean and the Western Balkan regions, and migrant communities/newcomers (Eastern Europeans, South-Asians, Turks, Andeans) in Central Europe.

The core scientific questions I and my research group are trying to address are:
How local plants are perceived, categorized, used and managed within a given community (ethnobotanical and ethnoecological knowledge)
How peoples perceive their "well-being" (and the well being of their animals as well) and adopt health-seeking strategies via traditional healing and/or dietary practices (ethnomedical knowledge)
How this knowledge changes within a given community and among different communities (variability and cross-cultural comparison)
How these knowledge systems change over time in response to environmental and/or socio-cultural/political dynamics
The most relevant potential outputs of our studies are relevant to:
Sustainable use of bio-diversity and agro-bio-diversity (i.e. small-scale harvesting and/or trade of local food products and medicinal herbs; eco-tourism)
Public health/nutrition policies devoted to migrants' groups
Food and ethnopharmacological research, modern clinical phytotherapy, and medical herbal practice
Safeguard of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage related to knowledge, practices, and beliefs related to the nature (i.e. eco-museums, ethnobotanical gardens)
 
Through these web pages, we would like to build bridges that may connect our work to other individuals and groups (scholars, students, NGOs, local communities, and other stakeholders) and to other networks of practices and experiences in ethnobiology.

Feedbacks are much more than welcome!