He received a Ph.D. in Exercise Science from Auburn University in 2006. He subsequently completed postdoctoral fellowship training in Molecular Endocrinology at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine from 2006 to 2009 and in Molecular Nutrition at the LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center from 2009-2013. He joined the UAB faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2013 and is an Associate Scientist with the NORC.