  bryan keith "dexter" holland (born december 29, 1965) is an american musician and molecular biology graduate student, best known as the singer, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter for the punk rock band the offspring. ==education and scientific career== holland attended pacifica high school in garden grove, california, where he graduated as class valedictorian in 1984. during high school, holland was the best student in mathematics in his year, and he found it "just as exciting as punk rock". he then attended the university of southern california, where he earned a b.s. in biology and an m.s. in molecular biology, and commenced a ph.d. in molecular biology. after the success of the offspring, he suspended his candidature to focus on music. holland has said that, at 40 years of age, he would rather be a professor at a university than play music. as of 2013, holland is a doctoral student at the laboratory of vira
1965_births Alternative_rock_guitarists Alternative_rock_singers American_alternative_rock_musicians American_male_singers American_microbiologists American_molecular_biologists American_punk_rock_guitarists American_punk_rock_singers American_virologists Bioinformaticians Living_people Musicians_from_California People_from_Garden_Grove,_California People_from_Huntington_Beach,_California Rhythm_guitarists The_Offspring_members University_of_Southern_California_alumni