He received his BS in Zoology from the University of Washington in 1972, and a PhD in Neuroscience from the State University of New York, Albany in 1976. From 1976-1986, he worked in two different laboratories in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, transitioning from studies of invertebrate neurodevelopment to mammalian neurodevelopment. In 1987, he took a position as a Research Assistant Professor in the Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University Arizona before moving to Oregon Health & Science University in 1989.