The American Botanical Council (ABC), Austin, TX, has welcomed Stefan Gafner, PhD, to its staff as the organization’s first-ever chief science officer.
 
For more than a decade, Dr. Gafner has served as a research scientist and director of analytical chemistry in the research and product development department of the natural products company Tom’s of Maine, a leading manufacturer of natural oral and personal care products. Among other products he researched and developed at Tom’s, Dr. Gafner co-developed a breath-freshening licorice extract that is a component of Tom’s bestselling Wicked Fresh toothpaste.
 
Dr. Gafner received his degree in pharmacy at the University of Bern School of Pharmacy in Bern, Switzerland. He earned his doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences — with a focus on phytochemistry (the chemistry of plants) — at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, from the internationally respected phytochemist Professor Kurt Hostettmann. His doctoral thesis focused on the search for new antibacterial and antifungal compounds from African medicinal plants in three plant families (Asteraceae, Bignoniaceae, and Myricaceae). Dr. Gafner conducted his postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois – Chicago in the College of Pharmacy’s highly regarded Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy (the study of medicines from plants and other natural sources).
 
Highlights of Dr. Gafner’s impressive career include the discovery of dozens of new natural products, the development of more than 40 methods for the identification and authentication of herbal extracts, and the validation of methods for more than 20 over-the-counter drug ingredients for consumer products.