Growing up in Trinidad exposed her to a blend of cultures and traditions. She remembers learning about Trinidad’s  Indigenous Amerindian (Carib and Arawak) peoples in school and visiting communities connected to those histories. What stayed with her most was their creativity and deep relationship with the environment.

“Their ability to take a coconut husk or shell and transform it into ten different things was always fascinating to me”  

Although Ramroop Singh is trained as a chemist specializing in analytical biochemistry, her fondness in plant medicine sprouted from childhood. Like many people raised in cultures connected to herbal remedies, she recalls memories of her mother brewing teas to help with fevers and illness. 

“My mom would give me certain teas if I had a fever. It was just something passed down from her mother.” 

One of the most powerful parts of Singh’s work is how it challenges the narrow definitions of medicine. Through her collaboration with the Cayoose Creek Band in Lillooet, she has learned that healing is not simply about treating symptoms.  Healing involves mental, spiritual and emotional aspects, all rooted in community.  

“Medicine has to do with the community. It has to do with storytelling. It has to do with rituals. It has to do with being connected to the land.” 

She reflected on how modern life often disconnects people from their own bodies. Issues such as stress, technological distractions, meeting deadlines, and constant urban stimulations can make it difficult for us to recognize early signs of imbalance in our bodies. 

“Our bodies send us signals way before, but we ignore them because we’re overwhelmed.” 

For Ramroop Singh, Indigenous perspectives on healing encourage people to slow down, reflect, and address the root causes of illness instead of only reacting to symptoms. 

A key element is how she positions herself in this research. Her role is not as the “owner” of the knowledge, but as someone helping in gathering, organizing, and connecting information. This act serves as a much-needed step in understanding how communal research requires humility, respect, and reciprocity. 

This approach allows students to appreciate both the scientific mechanisms and cultural knowledge behind traditional medicines, further emphasizing the value of respecting nature and Indigenous Knowledge practices within an academic environment.

“I can merge science and traditional medicine. A lot of people tend to think they’re separate.” 

Such lessons draw ties between chemistry to knowledge systems that have existed for generations. Creating a balance between formalized knowledge and applied knowledge that is needed by the community.

Throughout the interview, Ramroop Singh repeatedly emphasized the importance of respectful collaboration. 

She explained that her relationship with the Cayoose Creek Band developed organically over time and was built on trust, patience, and careful listening. 

Singh believes this work can become a model for future collaborations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, but she also recognizes that every context is different. There is no single formula for ethical engagement. 

What matters most, she believes, is approaching the work with humility, awareness, and respect. 

At its heart, Ramroop Singh’s work establishes a framework that bridges medicinal Indigenous Knowledge with biochemistry in academia, demonstrating that these two fields are  interconnected,  despite different practices, terminologies and environments. 

Her work  reminds us that education can be a bridge between traditions rather than a barrier between them. By combining scientific inquiry with respect for Indigenous knowledge, she is helping create conversations that are collaborative, human-centered, and deeply meaningful. 

In a world increasingly shaped by speed, stress, and disconnection, her research journey reminds us that healing extends beyond curing an illness and more about restoring relationships with ourselves (soul, body and mind), with community, and with the land. It ties science and Indigenous knowledge with humility and care, showing that traditional wisdom and modern research do not have to compete, but can instead strengthen one another. Through respectful collaboration and education, she is helping preserve stories, practices, and knowledge that might otherwise be lost to time. 

As reflected during the interview, she concludes by saying, “I think it’s two sides of the same coin.” In many ways, that simple phrase captures the heart of her work; a belief that science and traditional knowledge, when approached with respect, can coexist to create deeper understanding, healing, and connection.