He received his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of California-Riverside (1995) and postdoctoral training in developmental toxicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1996–1999). His group has a long interest in better understanding the mechanism(s) underlying developmental toxicity in response to chemicals such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), ethanol, nicotine, and pesticides. He also has a regenerative medicine group that is developing new methods and approaches to discover the molecular pathways that prevent or promote vertebrate tissue regeneration.