Biography...

I did my graduate work at Boston University under the mentorship of Dr.Michael Baum. In Boston I studied chemosensory communication in a carnivore species Mustela putorius furo (the European Ferret). I was primarily interested in studying the main and accessory olfactory systems and understanding their relative roles for the detection of pheromones and for mediating social behaviors. After graduating in 2001 I went to work with Dr. Frank Zufall at the University of Maryland School of Medicine as a Postdoctoral fellow. In Maryland I spent some time developing behavioral assays for mice with genetic defects in olfactory transduction and began working on a project studying a novel source of chemosensory cue important for individual recognition in mice. After 3 years as a postdoctoral fellow I was given an appointment as a non-tenure track assistant professor. I stayed at the University of Maryland for an additional 3 years before joining the faculty at the University of Idaho in the Biological Sciences department. My research interests while evolving over the years have stayed relatively focused. I am still interested in understanding how chemosensory communication ultimately mediates social behavior. In the Fall of 2006 I was honored with being awarded the Frank Beach award in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. This award is given yearly to promising investigators by the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.