He received his B.S. in Physiology from Michigan State University, his Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Michigan, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Pittsburgh Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh. He teaches courses in analytical, pathological, and biochemical toxicology and performs mechanistic research on the environmental bases of Parkinson’s disease. His research group is particularly interested in the following topics related to Parkinson’s disease: 1) Neurotoxicity of heterocyclic amines, which are compounds formed during high temperature cooking; 2) How environmental insults may disrupt autophagy and lead to neuronal cell death; 3) How specific genetic factors can increase sensitivity to environmental insults. The lab utilizes neurobehavioral, biochemical, and histological techniques to address these topics.