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URI's a natural for student's careerMichael Ford had been operating Apollo Herbs for a few years when he decided that if he wanted to grow in the herbal medicine business, he needed some formal education. So he enrolled in the University of Rhode Island, seeking degrees in botany and the classics. In 1998, he earned both undergraduate degrees, but he realized even more study would help, so he enrolled in the College of Pharmacy. This summer he will earn his Master of Science in pharmacogosny, the study of drugs of natural origin. All that remains is the completion and defense of his thesis, which chronicles his research into the isolation of chemicals from plants that are known laxatives and proving how they act as laxatives. Through all of his intensive undergraduate and graduate studies, he kept Apollo Herbs running and flourishing since the day he opened it in 1991. "One of the reasons I pursued my education was to have integrity," Ford said. "I don't want to sell you anything that is not going to work or that is going to hurt you." Ford started his college education at the Rhode Island School of Design, and while there met a master herbalist. Things didn't work out for him at RISD, but the apprenticeship with the herbalist did. When he began his quest in 1994 for his dual bachelors' degrees at URI, Ford said he focused on botany because that would give him the scientific foundation for his work and on the classics, "because I have always been fascinated by where words come from. I also found that herbalism is practiced in mythology, and that many scientific and botanical terms are based on Latin and Greek. It's also true of many pharmaceutical terms. I can look at a lot of medical terms without having to look them up." Ford, who has been researching herbal medicine since before it became a hot topic, said the field is interesting because it combines biology, chemistry, pharmacology and pharmacognosy. Ford said he is also interested in the study of ethno-botany, which he described as the study of remedies, foods and perfumes used by various cultures. He credits Yuzuru Shimizu, URI professor of biomedical sciences, with instilling in him a probing approach to the field. "Dr. Shimizu was trained in traditional pharmacognosy in Japan. I have tremendous respect for him." Ford said he looks at the entire health spectrum, including diet, exercise, nutrition and medications. "I don't promote herbs as miracle cures or sex drive enhancers. If I am going to make money selling herbs, I want to help people doing it." Ford also said he plans to resume his artwork, which was interrupted when he and began studies at URI. By Dave Lavallee |
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