Marsha Quinlan

Marsha B. Quinlan is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Washington State University (WSU), affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, Columbia. Her research focuses on medical and ecological anthropology, particularly the cultural dimensions of health, ethnomedicine, and human-environment interactions. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Latin America, the Caribbean, and East Africa, investigating topics such as traditional healing practices, ethnobiological classification, and antimicrobial resistance in agropastoral communities.

Key research areas include ethnomedicine, ethnobotany, and the One Health framework, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to health systems. Her work in East Africa explores livestock medication practices and antibiotic resistance among Maasai, Warusha, and Chagga groups, while her Latin American projects examine plant use and healthcare in Q’eqchi’ Maya communities. She also studies Sidama agro-pastoral systems in Ethiopia and Caribbean health practices in Dominica.

Quinlan teaches courses including Medical Anthropology (ANTH 405) and Anthropological Field Methods (ANTH 554). She advises current graduate students researching topics such as equine interactions in the U.S. and indigenous plant use in India. Past students have focused on menstrual health in Dominica and Maya homegardens.

Her contributions include co-editing Explorations in Ethnobiology: The Legacy of Amadeo Rea (2013) and authoring From the Bush: The Front Line of Health Care in a Caribbean Village (2004). She directs WSU’s Ethnobiology program and participates in the Psychological/Medical Anthropology initiative. Her research integrates quantitative and qualitative methods, often collaborating with global teams on issues of environmental health and cultural resilience.