Bio

I was born and raised in Buckhannon, WV, which has been described as “the perfect birthplace.” The son of a college administrator and a counselor/homemaker, I always figured I would end up gravitating towards a career in business or social sciences. So when I enrolled at West Virginia Wesleyan College in the fall of 2010, I decided to double major in History and Business. This lasted all of one year. I was bored with my business courses and I decided although I loved history, I didn’t want to go get a PhD and without one, I'd never find a job (oh, the irony). This resulted in a major switch to Exercise Science, a newfound goal of becoming a physical therapist., and a 19-year-old who finally discovered science is pretty damn cool. The new major and the love of science stuck, but entering my senior year I had moved on from wanting to be a PT…so now what? Following lots of Googling and several long talks with smart people, I decided to pursue my Masters of Public Health at West Virginia University after graduating from WVWC in the spring of 2014.

Keeping with my undergraduate theme, I made it 6-weeks into my MPH in Environmental Health before I began to have doubts about my then career aspirations. Due to some great fortune and wonderful people, I transferred graduate programs and enrolled in WVU’s MS in Exercise Physiology thesis-track program. I joined Paul Chantler’s lab in January of 2015, studying aerobic exercise training as a mitigation strategy in rodents with metabolic syndrome and chronic anxiety. In just 4 years I had gone from the kid who thought he’d never do science to doing NIH-funded research at a R1 institution. Within a month of joining Paul’s lab, I knew I wanted to pursue a PhD. I had burgeoning interests in metabolism, so in the fall of 2015 I enrolled in an elective graduate-level nutrition course. This ended up being one of the three best decisions of my life. The course instructor just so happened to be a metabolism researcher looking for a PhD student. By week two of the class I had told her I was interested, by week four we had agreed I would be joining, and by week eight I had been awarded a fully-funded competitive fellowship for my doctoral studies. I spent the next few months finishing up data collection, writing my MS thesis, and completing my MS in Exercise Physiology.

In the fall of 2016, I officially joined Janet Tou’s lab. My doctoral work studied the potential of repurposing apple pomace, a high-fiber, high-antioxidant “waste” product from processing apples, as an aid for pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Working with Janet exposed me to a host of new techniques in the lab and also instilled a great appreciation for conducting meticulous experiments and setting attainable goals, as my doctoral project had minimal funding! Although I was excited by my research, I also was keen on gaining teaching experience so I enrolled in WVU’s Certificate in University Teaching program. Over the next few years I refined both these skills, and in May of 2019 I completed my PhD and my university teaching certificate. But, before graduating I entered the free agency market and did the academic interview circuit, ultimately deciding to take my talents to Clarksville, AR.

I joined the University of the Ozarks as Assistant Professor of Health Sciences following the completion of my PhD. While at Ozarks, I taught a wide variety of classes, redesigned and updated the health sciences curriculum, and successfully collaborated with other scientists on great research. In June of 2021 I completed my position at Ozarks and moved to Vermont with my significant other, where I served as Research Manager and Outreach Coordinator for the UVM Food Systems Research Center until summer of 2023. I am now Assistant Professor of Nutrition within the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at UVM and am so excited to be back doing research and teaching. 

Outside of my work, I am a proud cat and dog dad, avid concert goer, very amateur musician, (unfortunately) sporadic hiker, craft beer lover, frequent fitness fanatic, apathetic sports fan, casual gamer, and overly obsessed podcast listener. You will likely find me with my wife Bekah—who is an amazing scientist. We love to try out the best local restaurants, craft breweries and distilleries, record shops, concerts, and nature spots wherever we go. Below is a very small sampling of my life in photos, which display some of my loved ones, pets, friends, hobbies, and my propensity to grow my hair out every other year before cutting it and doing it all again.