He earned his BS in Biology from Bucknell University in 1996 and his PhD in Pharmacology from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in 2002. This was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Oregon Health & Science University. Between 2007 -2012 he was the recipient of a K01 award and served as a Research Assistant Professor within the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience at OHSU. In 2012 he was appointed to the ONPRC.