Billions of years of evolution have led to the treasures within nature’s medicine cabinet, acting as the source of inspiration for most of the advancements in human health. According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, more than two-thirds of all medicines found to have cancer-fighting properties come from rainforest plants. I took these images while conducting field research deep in the Amazon rainforest for 4 weeks. I’ve found that nature often has found a solution to common problems. Thus, medical students should be taught to draw inspiration from nature early on in their education to optimize their research and increase the success of their innovations. Additionally, students must learn about the need to protect the health of our planet as we unravel its natural systems for our benefit. Biomimicry is rapidly driving new drug and medical device developments, prompting the question, is evolution the original physician-innovator? An analysis of current data supports the hypothesis that an evolutionary perspective for innovation will enhance the medical education of future physician-innovators.
