A: Not directly. I grew up on a dairy farm in northeast Ohio, and figured I'd end up there. I got my bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University in dairy science, but all along I expected I'd go back to the farm and milk cows for a living.
A: I took graduate-level courses in reproductive biology as an undergraduate at OSU, and I found them very interesting. Still, I went back and farmed for a year after I graduated but developed repetitive motion injuries in my arms and hands. I figured 21 was too young to be having these problems on the farm.
A: Well, I can't remember life without liquid nitrogen tanks—reproductive technologies were already a part of farming. I went on to get a master's at OSU and my Ph.D. in reproductive biology at West Virginia University, still working with cattle. WVU was a great program, a real team environment where you had to pool resources and work together. It shaped how I wanted to work in my professional life.
A: I became very interested in research into egg development, which led me to the Laboratory to work with John Eppig for my postdoc. I went on from there to manage the reproductive sciences group. I enjoy integrating basic science with practical applications, and to scale those applications so they benefit the global research community.
A: Home improvement. I enjoy building things and have been gradually converting an unfinished log cabin to a finished log cabin. I like making visible progress—that's very gratifying—and my wife's very patient!
We use cookies to personalize our website and to analyze web traffic to improve the user experience. You may decline these cookies although certain areas of the site may not function without them. Please refer to our privacy policy for more information.