Daniel Ellis Moerman (born 1941) is an American medical anthropologist and ethnobotanist, and an emeritus professor of anthropology at the

University of Michigan-Dearborn A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. He is known for his work relating to Native American

ethnobotany Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...

and the

placebo effect A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

Education and career

Moerman was born in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1963, 1965, and 1974, respectively. He became a professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 1984, and was appointed the William E. Stirton Professor of Anthropology at the university in 1994.

Research

Moerman has spent over 25 years developing a catalogue of over 4,000 plants used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes. He has also published studies on the placebo effect, one of which found that more people with

stomach ulcer The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach is ...

s were healed when taking four placebos per day than when taking two.

Awards and honors

In 1991, Moerman became the first faculty member at the University of Michigan's Dearborn campus to receive the University's Distinguished Faculty Governance Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moerman, Daniel Ellis Medical anthropologists American anthropologists Living people 1941 births People from Paterson, New Jersey University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Ethnobotanists Placebo researchers University of Michigan faculty