Searching for plants that will lead to curing diseases has kept Paul Alan Cox traveling the world, protecting rainforests and coral reefs and studying patterns of wellness and disease among indigenous peoples. Cox, a renowned ethnobotanist, will talk about his work at the next Discover Science Lecture Series at the University of Nevada, Reno March 10.

Cox is the director of the Institute for Ethnomedicine in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. His current ethnobotanical research is focused on neurodegenerative illness with the goal of discovering new therapies for ALS and Alzheimer's disease.

In 1997 TIME magazine named Cox one of 11 "Heroes of Medicine." His work with indigenous peoples in preserving their island rain forests won him the Goldman Environmental Prize. A Harvard Ph.D., Cox has published more than 200 scientific papers and four books.

He has held academic appointments at the University of California, Berkeley, Brigham Young University, the University of Melbourne, Uppsala University, the Swedish Agricultural University, and the University of Illinois, Chicago, and served as Director of the Congressionally-chartered National Tropical Botanical Gardens in Hawaii and Florida.

Cox founded Seacology, the world's premier environmental non-profit organization for island conservation, headquartered in Berkeley, California. Through partnerships with indigenous people, Seacology has now saved more than 1.3 million acres of island rainforests and coral reefs in 56 nations. Throughout Polynesia, he is known by the chiefly title Nafanua.

Now in its sixth year, the annual Discover Science Lecture Series brings renowned scientists and science lecturers from around the country to share their knowledge with the community. The final speaker scheduled for the 2016 Discover Science Lecture Series is Robert Williams, Hubble Space Telescope project leader, April 21.

The Paul Alan Cox lecture will be held at 7 p.m., March 10 in the Redfield Auditorium in the Davidson Mathematics and Science Center on the University campus. Parking is reserved for the event on the top level of the Brian J. Whalen Parking Complex on North Virginia Street. Admission is free.