Eloy Rodriguez knows a thing or two about making one's way in the world. As a guest lecturer Sept. 21 at the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) observance of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), he spoke of how his love of science and tremendous family support took him from an impoverished upbringing to the groundbreaking science he is conducting today.

Rodriguez, whose talk was titled "The Origins of American Medicine: The Great Encounter of Indigenous, African and European Cultures," grew up in a large family that included some 67 first cousins. Born and reared in one of the poorest regions of south Texas, an area he calls "Chicano land," Rodriguez grew up "trilingual" -- knowing English, Spanish and the blend known as Spanglish. His family, he noted, can trace its American roots back to the 1600s.

As the James A. Perkins Professor at Cornell, Rodriguez studies ethnobotanical medicine (how people interact with plants) and pharmacognosy (medicines derived from natural sources) in the Department of Plant Biology. He said that he is inspired by the knowledge that some cultures, both current and long gone, have been working with the Earth's most powerful and beneficial plants for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.

"In Mexico, over 500 plants are used for the treatment of diabetes," he said. "And they're still using the same plants that were used from the time of the Aztecs and before."

Cited in books and passed down for centuries, these same plant compounds have been found, indeed, to be potent treatments against cancer, diabetes and malaria, and many have been found to be effective insect repellents.

For Rodriguez, finding cures in nature is a matter of chemistry.

"Did you know the Chinese were using penicillin 5,000 years ago?" he said. "Alexander Fleming isolated the compound, but it had been used for thousands of years. The beauty of penicillin is that it's a fungus that kills other bacteria. So, if you want to kill bacteria, go get it from a fungus."

Rodriguez emphasized that even when cultures met or clashed through invasion, slavery or war, what emerged was a blend of old and new practices to push forward the understanding of plant-based medicine. Examples can be seen in the nutritious bitter yams and okra brought by Africans in the slave trade to the Caribbean and America, as well as the natural resistance to smallpox developed by the indigenous people after the Europeans' arrival with the virus wiped out entire villages.

This blending of cultures is still ongoing in America, he said, while showing a photo of graduate students, a very diverse group.

"It is this diversity, this beautiful diversity," he said, as he urged the high school students in the audience to see themselves in the faces of the budding scientists. "This is the coming of America, and this is why it is so important that you are represented in federal agencies and everywhere."

To this end, Rodriguez has become something of an activist to get more Latino students engaged in sciences.

"I talk to a lot of Chicano students, Latino students, and they say, 'We have no history in science, I'd rather go into business or something,'" he said. "I always tell them that the history of science goes way, way back even before the coming of the Europeans. We were already doing science here and everywhere else."

He added, "By 2050, Latinos will be 30 percent of the population. There are major health disparities in the Latino population in the areas of prenatal care, cervical cancer, diabetic amputations and heart attacks. We cannot allow these types of health disparities to exist. We need trained scientists."

Valerie Lambros is the assistant editor of the NIH Record, from which this article is adapted.