About Me.

I was born in Chicago, IL in 1967 and grew up in Chicago and Downers Grove, IL.  My science career  started in 1972, where after much protest I was the first kindergarder to participate in the Dirksen School Science Fair. I later attended Downers Grove South High School from 1981-1985, then spent four years on a B.S. degree in Biology from Northern Illinois University.  In 1992 I completed a M.S. degree with Dr. Neil Polans that focused on genetic linkage relationships for light-regulated genes in the garden pea.  In 1998 I completed a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology under the direction of Dr. Lon Kaufman, specifically studying how blue light modulates RNA levels of light regulated genes in plants, studying opposing mechanisms of de novo synthesis and degradation. My postdoctoral career continued at University of Illinois at Chicago and in 2000 I moved to Madison, WI to work with Dr. Edgar Spalding.  Here we studied the genetics of blue light signal transduction using novel computer-aided imaging approaches.  In 2002 I accepted a tenure-track professor position at the University of Florida in the Horticultural Sciences Department and was a tenured faculty member in 2008.

My favorite hobby is my job.  I enjoy working in the lab, as well as writing grants and scholarly papers. Most of all it is still fun to train new students.  It is great to spark their interests and see their desire to participate in an exciting research environment.

Other interests include fishing in the Gulf of Mexico by kayak, raising Amorphophallus species (corpse flowers), and participating in karate.

I live in Gainesville, FL on a huge wooded lot with my wife Roxanne and two screwy dogs, Xeenah and Stinkie.