I’m a Professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana, where I live with my wife and two kids. I received my Ph.D. in Molecular & Cell Biology from the University of Pennsylvania in the year…let’s just say I was listening to a lot of Toad The Wet Sprocket back then. My Ph.D. thesis described my discovery of a few genes responsible for drug-resistance in Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite so fascinating that I continue to study it to this day.

I then enjoyed working at Eli Lilly & Co. for two years, but decided to return to academia so I could wear jeans and T-shirts to work again. If you are interested in our research, check out our laboratory website.

I have written for a number of popular science outlets including Scientific American, Scientific American MIND, Salon.com, COSMOS magazine, GotScience.org, What Is Epigenetics, and more. I am an editor and writer at PLOS SciComm, a blog site dedicated to the art of science and medical communication. In 2014, I co-founded my own popular science blog called THE ‘SCOPE, which aims to talk about science in a lighthearted and entertaining way.

I enjoy giving presentations about a variety of science-related topics to all age groups – contact me for topics and booking information. I also serve as a board member for The da Vinci Pursuit, an organization focused on connecting science, art, and community. My love for the arts goes back to my graduate school days: I would science all day, but I would rock out all night with my band, Open Cage.

Why do I do all this? Communicating science is essential for progress and our well-being, but it is not an easy task. The language can be intimidating and the concepts involved take years to master. I made a commitment to do my best to bring science to the people in a way that won’t put them to sleep or make their head implode. I love to laugh and I love to learn; I hope my writing does that for you in equal measure.