Prior to his appointment, he was an AP Giannini Postdoctoral Fellow in Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco working with Professor James Fraser. He earned his PhD in Biochemistry and Structural Biology & Biophysics from Duke University after receiving his BA in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from Rhodes College. His research on protein structural flexibility, temperature-dependent X-ray crystallography, and allosteric regulation has led to over 15 publications in leading scientific journals and over ten presentations at a variety of scientific meetings.