He holds joint appointments in the Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Ophthalmology, and is a member of the Cell and Molecular Biology and Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine programs. He obtained his undergraduate degree in microbiology and immunology with a distinction in research from the University of Rochester, followed by a PhD degree in microbiology and immunology from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed postdoctoral fellowship training in genetics at Baylor College of Medicine and was a Research Associate in the Human Genome Sequencing Center working on the functional genomics of biodefense and emerging infectious disease.