He received his Ph.D. in Zoology from Oregon State University in 1995 and subsequently trained at the University of Bristol, UK. In 2002 he was awarded a prestigious Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship. He joined the University of Colorado Boulder in 2007. He has received 2007 and 2010 Young Investigator Awards from NARSAD, The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. He has authored or co-authored approximately 80 book chapters, review articles and journal articles. His primary research interest is to understand the neural and physiologic mechanisms underlying the control of anxiety states and emotional behavior, with a focus on the role of serotonergic systems.