James R. Riach
Associate Teaching Professor
Earth and Environment
Office: AHC5 366
Phone: 305-348-1209
Email: riachj@fiu.edu
Specialty: Anthropology
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology, UGA, 2001
- Master of Arts in Comparative Sociology, FIU, 1995
- Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies, FIU, 1989
- Associate of Arts in Marine Sciences, MDCC, 1980
Research Areas
Dr. Riach received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Georgia. He is a faculty fellow of the Honors College at F.I.U. and has been an adjunct with the university for several years. His research and teaching interests include the interconnections between ecosystem health and human well-being, with a focus on the Amazon and South Florida regions. His work combines multiple theories and methodologies from anthropology, epidemiology, medicine, ecology, and geography. He also specializes in traditional health knowledge and ethnobotany of native people in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon. He has worked on health and environmental projects among indigenous rainforest cultures including the Cayapas and the Siona-Secoya of Ecuador and the Aguaruna and Yagua of Peru. As a member of Project Amazonas, Inc., a humanitarian and environmental research and education non-profit organization, he has helped develop integrated strategies to address health, conservation, and development needs in the Peruvian Amazon.
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology, UGA, 2001
- Master of Arts in Comparative Sociology, FIU, 1995
- Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies, FIU, 1989
- Associate of Arts in Marine Sciences, MDCC, 1980