Dr. Pengelly was trained in botanical medicine, naturopathy, and homeopathy at the Southern Cross Herbal School, and plant biology and archaeology at the University of New England ( Australia). Adjunct Lecturer, Herbal Medicine Program Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA.

He established a herbal medicine practice for 18 years, and taught extensively at several herb schools in Australia and internationally, culminating in an appointment as program director of the Bachelor of Herbal Therapies at the University of Newcastle. For his research findings on ethnopharmacology of Australian plants he was awarded a PhD. He is author of the widely used text “The Constituents of Medicinal Plants”.

In 2009 Dr. Pengelly moved to the USA to take on a position with the (then) Tai Sophia Institute, now Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH), where he served in the teaching faculty and director of the herb dispensary. In addition, he has been a regular visiting lecturer at the Georgetown University Medical School since 2011. In 2016 he returned to Australia where he has resumed his field botany, essential oil distillation and research into medicinal and aromatic plants at Southern Cross Farm in the lower Hunter Valley, while continuing to teach online for MUIH.

Dr. Pengelly is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild, a fellow and full life member of the National Herbalists Association of Australia. He loves reading novels, listening to music (especially jazz and blues), gardening and hiking - always on the lookout for new and interesting plants. He is also the Director of Penett Botanicals