About the herbalist
Marija has been studying herbs, mushrooms and essential oils intensely since 2008, training at the Ohlone Center of Herbal Studies with Pam Fisher, at Green Medicine Herb School with Kathi Keville and with a number of other herbalists. Prior to becoming an herbalist, she spent nearly 15 years as a research scientist, with a focus on cancer and infectious disease. She received her doctoral degree in microbiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine while studying cancer-promoting mechanisms of human papillomavirus, the primary cause of cervical cancer. Her postdoctoral research on dengue virus was conducted in the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley. She was an infectious diseases trainee at the UW Center for AIDS & STD and an infectious diseases fellow through UC San Francisco Division of Infectious Diseases. Her focus as an herbal practitioner is a low-tech, simple and holistic approach to health that incorporates both traditional herbal knowledge and the latest scientific research.
Marija is a regular columnist for Plant Healer Magazine and Basmati.com. She loves to teach and has taught herb classes for the following organizations/conferences:
- Osadha Natural Health, Durango, CO
- Good Medicine Confluence, CO
- The Ohlone Center of Herbal Studies, CA
- Fort Lewis College, CO
- Discovery Museum, CO
- Durango Garden Club, CO
- Native Plant Festival, AZ
- Durango Seniors Outdoors, CO
- Native Plant Society of New Mexico/Annual Conference, CO
- Pura Vida Healthcare, CO
- Meet the Doulas & Midwives Night, CO
- WholeExpo, CO
- Natural Grocers, CO
- Blueprints of Hope Cancer Wellness Conference, CO
Her goals as an herbal practitioner and educator are as follows:
1) To promote a low tech approach to preventative health & disease.
- working against the “wait for the fire, then put it out” mentality
- working to establish wellness and balance in the body, allowing the body to heal itself and, better yet, to not get sick in the first place
2) To empower people to take responsability for their health by:
- encouraging people to make healthier lifestyle choices and educating them on how
- encouraging folks to go informed and with questions when they see their healthcare provider
- providing free or low-cost classes on various topics related to herbs and wellness
3) To bridge the gap between herbalism & Western allopathic medicine by:
- interfacing with medical doctors interested in learning about & using medicinal plants in their practice
- holding classes for herbalists on various science-related topics such as microbiology, cancer biology, reading and interpreting scientific literature, etc.
Herbal Training in detail
Ohlone Center for Herbal Studies. Pam Fisher, Director. Berkeley, CA.
• Student Clinic – saw clients under Pam’s supervision in the donation-based communitity clinic
• 10 month Herbal Therapeutics Program
• 10 month Foundations of Herbalism Apprenticeship Program
Songbird Herbal Co-op, Cotati, CA & The Green Bough, Sonoma County.
• One-on-one training with Dawn Zaft on clinical herbalism and Traditional Chinese
Medicine. Saw clients on my own & reviewed cases with Dawn.
Green Medicine Herb School. Kathi Keville. Grass Valley, CA.
• Herbal Apprenticeship
• Herbal Medicine and Body Systems
• Aromatherapy Series (Level 1 Training)
California School of Herbal Studies, Forestville, CA
• A variety of short courses
Other Courses:
• International Certification Course in Aromatherapy. Pacific Institute of
Aromatherapy. Kurt Schnaubelt, Director. San Rafael, CA.
• The Art and Science of Herbology. Rosemary Gladstar, E. Barre, VT.
Scientific Training
• 7/2002-10/2005: Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dengue virus replication. Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley
• 7/1996-6/2002: Doctoral studies in Microbiology. Molecular mechanisms
of Human Papillomavirus-induced oncogenesis. Department of Microbiology,
University of. Washington, Seattle, WA. Work carried out at Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center, Seattle, WA.
• 6/1993-6/1996: Research Technician in cancer drug pharmacology and in digital microscopy. Department of Pharmacology, Fox Chase
Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA.
•1991-1993: Research Technician in the Department of Ornithology, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA.
• 9/1989-5/1993: Bachelor of Science in Biology w/ Chemistry Minor, Neumann
College, Aston, PA.