Prof. Michael Heinrich
Michael Heinrich is a Professor of Ethnopharmacology and Pharmacognosy at the UCL School of Pharmacy and currently President of the international Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA), with close to 2000 members (www.ga-online.org).
His academic journey took him from an MA in Anthropology (Wayne State University) to phytochemical research as part of a Master’s degree in Biology, to fieldwork on medicinal plants with a Mexican Indian group and subsequent studies on the anti-inflammatory and GI effects of selected species. Since 1999 he has been at the School of Pharmacy, University of London (now the UCL School of Pharmacy), with a global focus on fast-changing global health needs and the associated chemical, pharmacological, analytical and ethnopharmacological questions — including research on topical anti-inflammatory formulations, the value chain of herbal medicines, and the impact of climate change on the sector.
Since 2022 he has also been a Yushan Fellow at China Medical University, Taiwan (Yushan Scholar programme), developing research on various aspects of Chinese herbal medicine. He is the winner of the 2026 V.E. Tyler Award of the American Society for Pharmacognosy.