He is a native of Shreveport and a 1975 graduate of Capt. Shreve High School. He attended Louisiana Tech University and LSU Medical School in Shreveport. He was residency trained in internal medicine, but for the past 17 years he has taught emergency medicine at LSU. In his tenure at LSUHSC he has served as medical director and acting chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine. He completed a two-year fellowship with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Washington D.C. and is recognized as one of the nation’s experts in traffic safety. He is well known for his efforts to advance the cause of injury prevention. He currently serves as a section editor for the Annals of Emergency Medicine.