- Department: Microbiology
- University: University of Florida
- Location: Gainesville, Florida
I am a cradle Catholic. I have been incredibly blessed by God materially, personally, and spiritually, and my challenge is trying to return these blessings to him through his church and his people. I have been married for 35 years to Maggie, who deserves saint status for putting up with me all of those years. I have four sons who range in age from 26 to 33. Two of them are married, and I have been blessed with two granddaughters and a grandson. All of them live within a few hours drive within Florida. I thank God that they are all devout Christians. I am a professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. Currently my major roles are teaching medical and graduate students, since my research on bacterial disease has all but closed. Students sometimes ask me if I find any conflict between being a scientist and Christian, and the answer to me is clearly, no. I describe my career as studying and teaching the wonders of God’s creation to those who will serve him as healers, researchers, and teachers. Being at a state institution, it can be challenging to appropriately share my faith with my students in the classroom. I belong to the Christian Faculty Fellowship organized through Cru. I let my students know that I pray for them daily, and I have a personal web page explaining my faith in the context of my work and personal life. In all of my interactions with students and faculty, I try to treat them with compassion and love in the model of Jesus, essentially living the Gospel through my actions (but, yes, sometimes I have to fail students). My guiding scripture is Matthew 22:37-40: He [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” Being a devout Catholic, it is wonderful to participate in and be enriched by the beautiful and meaningful liturgies, especially the mass. However, the largest portion of my life is outside of the church building – in my family, work, and community – and I must strive to love God through his children in those places. I do this through service. Being materially blessed, I am called to share these blessings with those less fortunate than me. My wife and I serve at homeless shelters, support children overseas, and work through Christian charitable organizations such as Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, and Unbound. We visit patients from church in the hospital. As I approach retirement in a few years, I look forward to having more time to devote to hands-on service in Jesus’ name.
Favorite Quote
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Friends describe me
as having a good sense of humor, sometimes being corny.
My hobbies
sailing, swimming, biking (I commute to work by bike), traveling
Fantasy dinner guests
St. Peter, Pope Francis, Louis Pasteur
My undergrad alma mater
Texas A&M
My worst subject in school
physics
In college I drove
an un-air-conditioned Chevy Monza
If I weren't a professor, I would
be a physician
Favorite books
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Favorite movies
Star Wars and Lord of the Rings series
Favorite city
Gainesville, FL
Favorite coffee
any dark roast - black
Nobody knows I
pray and meditate during my bike commute and while I swim.
My latest accomplishment
Developing online distance graduate education for my department. I wish that it was that I had lost 40 pounds. Stay tuned.
Current Research
My academic career has been studying the molecular genetics of bacterial pathogens - determining how they cause disease. In this last chapter of my career, I am focusing on teaching and administration.