He received his PhD in Anatomy and Neurobiology at Washington University in St. Louis where he studied ion channel evolution under Dr. Larry Salkoff and did postdoctoral training under Dr. Richard Aldrich at Stanford University. He spent a few years in the pharmaceutical industry working on ion channel drug discovery before returning to academia. In his position at Penn State, his focus has returned to the evolution of ion channels and neuronal signaling. Current projects center on the functional evolution of neuronal ion channels and on the evolution of key neuronal structures such as dendrites and axons. His lab also maintains an interest in ion channel biophysics, looking at how cellular factors influence gating across the breadth of the eukaryotic kingdom. Model systems currently used by his lab include plants, flies, and sea anemones. Photo courtesy of Tim Jegla.