January 29, 2025 | This article appears in Volume 61, Issue 1
As I write this on May Day in New York, it seems like summer is right around the corner. I hope many of us will be able to meet at the International Congress of Natural Product Research to be held in Kraków in July. The organizers are planning a
great program, and it is not surprising that many more people requested oral presentations than available time slots. The list of invited speakers and workshops are included in the article and on the conference website, and I hope you will take a look. This meeting will surely be a great opportunity to interact with natural product colleagues from around the globe.
Last year, we received sad news of the passing of one of the long-time members of ASP and former ASP President Dr. John Staba. The ASP owes him a lot for his leadership and dedication to the Society. Lloyd archivist, Christine Jankowski, volunteered to write a tribute to Staba, and it appears on the cover of this issue of the Newsletter. As the society reaches its 65th anniversary, we have fewer of the members from the early days with us who were present at the founding at the Plant Science Laboratory Seminar in Chicago in 1959. I hope you will read the Staba remembrance and consider his seminal contributions to the ASP that allowed us to grow into the society we are today. His enormous personal library is also quite remarkable, and it is nice to know that many institutions, including the Lloyd, have benefitted from his book donations.
We have two fascinating articles about members conducting work in Africa. Dr. Liva Rakotondraibe of The Ohio State University contributed to our “Field Notes in Pharmacognosy,” discussing one of his field trips to his home country of Madagascar. Rakotondraibe explains the amazing geological history of this island nation that is a hotspot of biodiversity, and one of its endemic plants was the source of important cancer treatments, vincristine and vinblastine. He goes on to describe the procedures that are in place to ensure collection trips are in line with accepted conventions on intellectual property rights. His descriptions and photos of Madagascar make this place come alive. Another ASP member Dr. Jiangnan Peng of Morgan State University describes a unique NSF-sponsored graduate training program in plant metabolomics that he runs each summer in Kenya! One of my students ASP member Yi Zhao was fortunate to go last year, and I know other ASP members have been able to attend as well. Peng’s article describes not only the training opportunities available to students, but also a way for students to expand their worldview and learn a little about African cultures.
The Journal of Natural Products is undergoing some major changes in its leadership, as explained in two articles in this issue of the Newsletter. Editor-in-Chief Dr. Philip Proteau is stepping down later this year, and a search committee has been formed to replace him. Dr. Barbara Sorkin continues to keep us updated on what is happening in federal agencies through her “Capital Communiqués” column, including the federal budget and NIH-funding opportunities.
The ASP Newsletter Committee, headed by Dr. Craig Hopp, is looking into ways to make the Newsletter more accessible to ASP members and friends. We constantly struggle with how to make the Newsletter more easily posted on social media, and I want to acknowledge the many former members of the Newsletter Committee who have worked with us on this same issue in the past, especially Dr. Michael Mullowney. If you have ideas about how the Newsletter can serve ASP members better, please feel free to reach out to Craig Hopp or me.
Enjoy these final days of spring!
During his retirement, Staba founded his research consultation business, Plants Personified, and worked with industrial, government, and educational institutions interested in information about plants and natural medicine.
A graduate student in Staba's department at the University of Minnesota and warmly reminisced, “Dr. Staba was a mentor for many students through his hands-on teaching abilities, his keen listening skills, and his gentle and kind demeanor. Course syllabi were organized and resourced with primary literature and pharmacognosy texts, but classes were more like friendly discussions in someone’s living room.” 2 He became Professor Emeritus in 1995.
Other notable academic positions and experiences for Staba included, Visiting Professor at the University of Connecticut in 1966; National Academy of Science’s Visiting Scientist to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary in 1969; Fulbright Hays Research Fellow to Germany in 1970; Council of Scientific & Industrial Research’s Visiting Scientist to India in 1973; NASA and the National Science Foundation’s Summer Research Fellow at General Electric in Philadelphia for 1976; American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow in 1982; ’84 International Visiting Professor Award from the Medical Research Council of Canada in 1983; and Visiting Professor to the University of Manchester in 1989.
During his retirement, Staba founded his research consultation business, Plants Personified, and worked with industrial, government, and educational institutions interested in information about plants and natural medicine. This led to many fellowships and research projects including his role at the natural personal care products company Tom’s of Maine. Angerhofer further commented on her connection with Staba after her studies. “Dr. Staba remembered my intense interest in herbal medicine and dietary supplements when he worked as Interim Director of Research and Product Development for Tom’s of Maine, Inc. in Kennebunk, Maine in 1996 -1997. Tom’s wanted to develop a new line of functional and sustainable herbal supplements, and they were looking to hire a permanent Director of R&D to lead that effort. At Dr. Staba’s encouragement, I applied and eventually accepted that role, drastically altering my career trajectory from academia.”
With Plants Personified, he would write publications on his given research topic, such as American ginseng or plant biotechnology, that would feature his reviews of articles, patent applications, and reports. Some of these publications were coauthored by his wife, Joyce, a pharmacist.4 Additional projects he was involved with during his lifetime included working with the National Science Foundation on projects in Pakistan and Egypt; three projects with the World Bank in Indonesia between 1985 and 1994 - including the creation of a research lab at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta; the Indonesia Workshop on Steroid Biotechnology in 1986; the NATO Advanced Study Institute Program in Portugal in 1987; and a USAID visit to Thailand in 1989.
With Plants Personified, he would write publications on his given research topic, such as American ginseng or plant biotechnology, that would feature his reviews of articles, patent applications, and reports.
Staba was a member of many organizations and served on several committees for the American Pharmaceutical Association, the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and the NASA Advisory Council on Life Sciences from 1984 to 1987. He was even elected for four consecutive terms for the US Pharmacopeia’s Committee of Revision-Natural Products, serving from 1980 through 2000.
Staba was a member of many organizations and served on several committees for the American Pharmaceutical Association, the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and the NASA Advisory Council on Life Sciences from 1984 to 1987. He was even elected for four consecutive terms for the US Pharmacopeia’s Committee of Revision-Natural Products, serving from 1980 through 2000.
Staba was one of the 88 attendees at the Plant Science Laboratory Seminar in Chicago in 1959. That meeting was the first meeting of the American Society of Pharmacognosy. Staba continued to serve with the ASP in many ways. For the 1966 annual meeting in Minneapolis, he was the head of the Scientific Program Committee. The committee presented the symposium “Natural Products for Mental Health” and other sessions covering plant tissue culture, phytochemistry, and “Biosynthesis of Alkaloids.” Staba was elected president of the ASP for the 1971-1972 term and presided over the 7th Annual Meeting in Columbus, Ohio.
Reviewing his correspondence during his time as ASP president, Staba offered his assistance with subcommittees and was willing to share memberships with students far and wide. He also sought to expand publicity of the ASP to larger organizations, such as the American Pharmaceutical Association, and he assisted with the planning of the joint meeting Gesellschaft für Arzneipflanzenforschung for 1974-1975. Later in 1984, he was a plenary speaker at the annual meeting held in Austin, Texas. Staba became an Honorary Member of the ASP in 1998.
Staba was one of the 88 attendees at the Plant Science Laboratory Seminar
in Chicago in 1959. That meeting was the first meeting of the American Society of
Pharmacognosy. Staba continued to serve with the ASP in many ways.
A small portion of his papers and books were donated to the Lloyd Library and Museum in 2009 and in 2022. He later donated additional books, articles, and research to the Mishoomis Collection Library of the American Indian Learning Resource Center at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. United Plant Savers also received a large donation of his books, and many other smaller libraries and communities received parts of his library as well. Angerhofer fondly recalled, “A move to reclaim space in the home he shared with his wife, Joyce, led John to start donating much of his collection in the 2010s. ‘My collections had taken over our house and all of our storage room!’ he said. But for the rest of his days, he was surrounded by and engaged with the books and papers he so dearly loved… ‘It's like giving away my children,’ John said. ‘All my collections have given me much enjoyment over the years and much, much more information.’ But through his donations, John wanted his collections to be placed as an accessible resource to a new generation of scholars for information and enjoyment.”
Staba will be missed by all. The extensive work that Staba put into his research is invaluable for researchers interested in medicinal plants. He leaves behind his wife and collaborator, Joyce, their five children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Memorials for Staba can be made in his honor through the American Association for the Advancement of Science at aaas.org.
Staba will be missed by all. The extensive work that Staba put into his research is invaluable for researchers interested in medicinal plants.
Literature Cited
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Cragg, G.M.; Fong, H. ASP founding and charter members. ASP Newsletter, Vol. 58, Issue 2. www.pharmacognosy.us/wp-content/uploads/ASP-Newsletter-58_2.pdf (accessed 2024-01-22).
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Angerhofer, C. Email to Christine Jankowski (Received 2024-01-31).
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Staba, E.J. People of ASP. www.pharmacognosy.us/people-of-asp/?smid=4821 (accessed 2024-01-29).
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Series E: Publications, The E. John Staba Papers, Lloyd Library and Museum, 1958-2006.
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Cragg, G.M.; Beutler, J.A.; Jones, W.P. The American Society of Pharmacognosy: 50 Years of Progress in Natural Products Research 1959-2009. 2009.
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Angerhofer, C. Obituary for Emil John Staba for American Botanical Council, Email to Christine Jankowski (Received 2024-01-04).