I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but spent much of my youth alternating between Tulsa and a small farming community in central Iowa. Over the years, I have also lived in Missouri, Colorado, and Maryland – as well as in Lubeck, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland
In 1985, I earned a BS in Microbiology from Oklahoma State University via the pre-veterinary
medicine track. Though admitted to veterinary school, I ultimately elected to follow
a research and teaching-intensive career path. I completed a PhD in Molecular Microbiology
and Immunology at the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Medicine in 1991,
followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in Comparative Medicine at the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine. I joined East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and
the Quillen College of Medicine (QCOM) faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1994.
As the founding chairperson of the QCOM Department of Medical Education (DME), my
responsibilities include developing the departmental structure and organization, supporting
the efforts of the faculty, staff, and students who drive QCOM’s educational missions,
and ensuring that our graduate and medical curricula continue best serve our students.
If you have questions about the DME or the educational programs at QCOM, please feel
free to contact me by e mail at the address above.
Though my focus at QCOM has always been medical and graduate education, my research explores the pathophysiology of human sexually transmitted diseases and has been supported by over 6 million dollars in extramural grant funding to date. I currently instruct in the following medical program courses: EQUAL Professional Immersion; Foundations of Medical Knowledge; Immunology & Hematology; Cardiovascular-Pulmonary-Renal; and GI/Nutrition – as well as several 4th year electives. In the coming year, I will begin teaching in the Endocrine & Reproductive System and the BRIDGE to Clinical Clerkships course. I also currently teach in three Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program courses (Immunology, Microbial Pathogenesis, and Biomedical Microbiology) and am director of the graduate Immunology course. Although the bulk of my teaching career has been spent at QCOM, I have also instructed medical and nursing students at the University of Missouri and the University of South Dakota.
When not at work, I spend as much time as possible with Michelle, my wife and reason for living, as well as our two children and our curly tailed pup. I share my enthusiasm for the outdoors with others outside of my family as an instructor and trip leader with the Nolichucky Outdoor Learning Institute. Finally, I love to read, kayak camp, backpack, photograph wildlife, and pursue the always elusive “whatever fish I can catch” in the waters of east Tennessee.