Where did Dr Paul Cox receive his medical, doctoral, or academic training and what institutions has he been affiliated with?
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Executive summary
Paul Alan Cox earned a B.S. in Botany and Philosophy from Brigham Young University, an M.Sc. in Ecology at the University of Wales (Bangor) as a Fulbright Fellow, and an A.M. and Ph.D. (Biology) from Harvard University; he was a Miller Research Fellow at UC Berkeley and has held faculty and leadership posts at Brigham Young University, Uppsala/Swedish institutes, the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Seacology, and Brain Chemistry Labs (sources: [7]; [4]; [5]; [6]; p2_s5). Available sources do not mention any medical (MD) training for Paul Alan Cox the ethnobotanist; other search results showing MD or DDS degrees appear to refer to different individuals named Paul Cox [1] [2] [3].
1. Academic formation: classical botanical and ecological training
Paul Alan Cox completed his undergraduate studies in Botany and Philosophy at Brigham Young University, graduating summa cum laude and valedictorian according to biographical listings [4] [5] [6]. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to pursue an M.Sc. in Ecology at the University of Wales, where he worked on evolutionary ecology and plant breeding systems early in his career [7] [4] [5].
2. Harvard doctorate and early postdoctoral honors
Cox entered Harvard as a Danforth Fellow and National Science Foundation Fellow and received his A.M. and Ph.D. in Biology (Harvard) in the early 1980s; his doctoral and postdoctoral appointments included serving as a Teaching Fellow under E. O. Wilson and later receiving a Miller Fellowship at UC Berkeley [7] [4] [5] [8]. These credentials underpin his research trajectory from evolutionary ecology toward ethnobotany and drug discovery [7] [5].
3. Institutional affiliations across an academic career
After his graduate work, Cox served on the faculty at Brigham Young University, including a period as professor and later dean, and was later appointed the King Carl XVI Gustaf Professor of Environmental Biology in Uppsala, Sweden; he is also documented as Director of the Institute for Ethnomedicine and later Executive Director of Brain Chemistry Labs [5] [9] [6]. He founded Seacology, an environmental nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, and has been associated with the National Tropical Botanical Garden and Swedish biodiversity institutions in leadership roles [7] [10] [11] [6].
4. Research profile and honors that reflect training and affiliation
Cox’s publication record—over a hundred peer‑reviewed papers and several books—and awards such as the Goldman Environmental Prize and TIME’s “Heroes of Medicine” reflect an academic career rooted in biology and ethnobotany rather than clinical medicine; these honors and publications are tied to his Harvard Ph.D., fieldwork in Polynesia and Samoa, and roles at BYU, Uppsala, and research institutes [7] [10] [12] [6].
5. Distinguishing him from other professionals named Paul Cox
Search results include multiple professionals named Paul Cox with medical (MD), dental (DDS), or education (Ed.D) credentials. For example, separate listings show a Paul E. Cox, MD in Atlanta with a University of Tennessee College of Medicine degree and another Paul Cox with a DDS from Texas A&M [1] [13] [2]. These are distinct people; biographical sources for the ethnobotanist make no claim of MD or DDS training [5] [6]. Available sources do not mention medical degrees for Paul Alan Cox the ethnobotanist [5] [6].
6. Limitations, open questions and why it matters
Biographical summaries are consistent across academic and institutional profiles, but precise dates for some appointments and a full CV are not present in every source provided; for fine‑grained chronology (exact years of Harvard degrees, BYU deanship dates, start/end dates for Uppsala and National Tropical Botanical Garden roles) consult original CVs or institutional records—available sources here list roles and degrees but sometimes omit dates [4] [5] [6] [9]. Readers should note the potential for name confusion: profiles with MD/MS or DDS credentials in the search results refer to other Paul Coxes [1] [2] [3].
7. Bottom line for a reader checking credentials
If you are verifying the ethnobotanist Paul Alan Cox: his formal academic training is B.S. (Brigham Young University), M.Sc. (University of Wales, Fulbright), and A.M./Ph.D. in Biology (Harvard), and his career affiliations include BYU, UC Berkeley (Miller Fellowship), Uppsala/Swedish biodiversity bodies, Seacology, the Institute for Ethnomedicine, and Brain Chemistry Labs [4] [5] [7] [6] [9]. If you encounter references to an MD or DDS for “Paul Cox,” treat them as different individuals and verify by cross‑checking institutional profiles [1] [2] [13].