I was born in central Nebraska, not far from the mile-wide, inch-deep Platte river
and grew up surrounded by seemingly endless cornfields that were long ago converted
from magnificent prairie grasslands. The small farming community where I grew up had
no stop lights, six churches, six taverns (7 if you count the VFW) and a six-lane
bowling alley that was open Thursday-Saturday. It wasn’t the middle of nowhere, but
I could throw a rock and hit it, so, I was highly motivated to attend college and
in 1987, I earned a B.S. in Biology from Peru State College (go Bobcats!). I have
only a few regrets from these formative years, but include eating a suspect rotisserie
hot dog from an unmemorable convenience store downwind from the Schuyler beef packing
facility in the summer of 1986.
Not knowing exactly what to do with a B.S. in Biology, I took the advice of a professor and applied to graduate programs with the aim of a career in research. Despite being accepted to graduate programs in the Midwest, the lure of mild winters in an exotic southern location led me to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (go Vols!) where I completed a PhD in Biochemistry in 1993. It was there I met the love of my life, Cassandra, who was hoodwinked into thinking I was a charming individual with decorum. After completing a post-doctoral fellowship in Biochemistry and Genetics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, I joined the Biochemistry Department at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and the Quillen College of Medicine (QCOM) as a Research Assistant Professor in 1997.
I am currently a full professor in the Department of Medical Education (DME) and the Department of Biomedical Sciences (DBMS) at QCOM. My primary responsibilities are in the development, organization and delivery of content in the QCOM basic science courses as well as the Biomedical Sciences graduate program. Within the QCOM medical program, I have taught extensively in the Cellular and Molecular Medicine and in the Doctoring I courses. In the new TRAILS curriculum, I will primarily teach in the Foundations of Medical Knowledge course and serve as co-director of the Cardiovascular Pulmonary and Renal course. In addition to medical and graduate education, my research laboratory focuses on elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the development of atherosclerosis, and has been supported by extramural funding from the American Heart Association and the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Outside of QCOM, I enjoy hiking, biking, growing peppers and tomatoes, homebrewing, and spending time with family and friends. I have a fondness of spaghetti Westerns only surpassed by a love of big fluffy dogs, street vendor tacos, craft beer, college football and alt-country music. I despise canned meats, cigarette butts in my driveway, runny oatmeal, modern country music, loud-mouth know-it-alls, buffalo sauce, reality TV shows, and anything to do with the Kardashians. My favorite weekends are spent with my grandchildren — taking them to ball games, catching trophy-sized bluegill at secret fishing spots, teaching them how to play the ponies at off-track betting sites, exploring the Appalachian countryside in search of breweries that allow children, or simply having a quiet evening at home discussing the finer points of Dirty Harry films over a pizza. Hopefully, I will inspire them to follow their passions and strive to be good people in that roundabout way Johnny Cash would write a song about.