A native of Southern California, he received a dual BS in chemistry and biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and subsequently obtained a PhD in chemistry from Stanford University under James P. Collman and Christopher E. D. Chidsey. Following this, he moved to the Harvard Medical School where he did postdoctoral work with Ralph Weissleder. Currently, his laboratory is developing bioorthogonal reactions as tools in molecular imaging and synthetic biology. His group's research has been recognized by a NIH Career Development award, a NSF CAREER award, and a Department of Defense MURI award.