Research Expertise. I am an expert on the biology of the olfactory sensory neurons and the odorant receptors (ORs) they express. My passion for investigating olfaction began as a graduate student working on motivation of adaptive behaviors in natural environments when I chose to investigate a behavior triggered by odor cues. I became intrigued by questions of how animals detect and discriminate odors. These questions continue to motivate my research efforts. I enjoy benchwork and continue to perform experiments, in part because it is a wonderfully creative endeavor. I have a long history of technological innovation, the latest being the invention of the Kentucky assay to simultaneously measure the in vivo function of all 1,100 ORs and 14 trace amine-associated receptors in freely behaving mice. To investigate such a large family of genes and the molecular biology of the neurons that express them I developed expertise in genomics that has led to collaborations on projects investigating the physiology of several organ systems and diseases, including Alzheimer’s Disease. They are welcome opportunities to take new translational directions, which are rare in the field of olfactory biology. 

Education and Service. In addition to my research efforts, I have been an innovator in education and training, developing 5 new courses and implementing active learning approaches. Current teaching assignments include:

IBS 603 Cell Biology & Signaling (3 credits)

IBS 608 Genomics & Bioinformatics Tools (Course Director; 2 credits)

PGY 502 Systems, Cellular, and Molecular Physiology

PGY 602 Readings in Systems, Cellular, and Molecular Physiology