He is also a faculty member at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He received his undergraduate degree at Harvard University (where he directed a jazz band) and his medical degree at Yale University School of Medicine, and completed surgical training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. His current areas of research focus on the study of the neural basis of musical improvisation and creativity (in jazz and freestyle rap) as well as the study of music perception in deaf individuals with cochlear implants. His work has been featured by National Public Radio, TED, National Geographic, Scientific American, PBS, the New York Times, the Library of Congress, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Institute.