Dr. Thomas Brendler is a scientist and consultant focusing on all aspects of herbal product development, registration and licensing. For 30+ years, he has developed and managed projects for industry on the use of plants in medicine, food, and cosmetics. He has been involved in the preparation, management, and execution of various publicly funded research projects, e.g., for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Centre for Development of Enterprise, and the International Trade Centre. In 2005 he co-founded the Association of African Medicinal Plants Standards and served as a director until 2018. He has authored, co-authored, edited and contributed to more than 50 publications topics related to ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, phytotherapy and natural product regulation, most notably Physician's Desk Reference for Herbal Medicines, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Indian Ocean Islands, A Practical Guide To Licensing Herbal Medicinal Products, African Herbal Pharmacopoeia, and the translation into English of the German Commission E monographs. Thomas is a member of the editorial boards of Phytotherapy Research, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Frontiers in Pharmacology and a regular peer reviewer for a variety of scientific journals. He has been a member of the US Pharmacopoeia Botanical Dietary Supplements & Herbal Medicines Expert Committee since 2015 and serves on the boards of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology and the American Botanical Council. He has received his PhD in Botany from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and holds a position as Associated Researcher there. Dr. Brendler was affiliated with Traditional Medicinals, Inc., USA, as Principal Scientist R&D until July 2024. In April 2024, he was appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Pharmacognosy Institute of the University of Illinois Chicago.