I received my BS in Zoology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, my MS in Biology from Central Washington University and my Ph.D. in Physiology/Biochemistry from Arizona State University. I was a postdoctoral student in Case Western Medical School.

I am a Teaching Professor in the Biology department. I have been at the University of Washington since 2002 originally employed in the School of Nursing and then moving to the undergraduate neurobiology (name changed to Neuroscience) program in December of that year.

I have a variety of teaching experiences. These experiences include primary education (K-12), community colleges, private and public college and universities.  Dr. Lynn Riddiford and I designed the Biology department’s Foundations of Physiology course which I have taught for over ten years.

Currently I am involved in educational research. My previous research included ecology, as well as vertebrate, insect and molecular physiology.

One of my avocations is to encourage you speak proper (sometimes called Bostonian) English, for example understanding the difference between a “rotary” and a “roundabout” or realizing that "I like the Yankees." is not a proper sentence in any context.