Saint Michael's College

Title: Associate Professor of Biology

Education: B.S. Washington and Lee University; Ph.D. University of Tennessee

Areas of Expertise/Research Interests: In my research, I look at how successful seed germination in plants relies upon the mobilization of nutrients from storage reserves to the growing embryo. An element of my work relates to Oligopeptide Transporters, which are proteins that reside in cell membranes and translocate small proteins into cells. The central goal of my research is to determine if specific transporters play a key role in rice seed germination by unloading amino acids efficiently and rapidly from storage reserves to the embryo for protein synthesis. The broader impact of this work is that it has the potential to affect plant reproductive success through increasing our understanding of amino acid unloading and could enhance future breeding practices and transgenic technologies in cereal crops.

Testimonial: One of our greatest strengths at Saint Michael's is that many students get to work closely with a professor on a research or service project.

What do you like most about teaching/working at Saint Michael's College? This is a hard question since there are many things that I like about teaching at Saint Michael's. My shortlist includes: class size, creative freedom, colleagues, and most importantly our student body. The connections we make across campus are truly unique. My second child was born in the front seat of my car on the interstate, and the ambulance that took my wife and newborn to the hospital was the Saint Michael's ambulance crewed by four of my students!