Scientist. Professor. Author. Explorer of ideas.
My work has always been driven by curiosity about how living systems respond to the world around them. I began as a molecular biologist studying genome stability and epigenetics, but over nearly three decades my research has expanded across biotechnology, environmental biology, medicinal plants, cannabinoids, aging and human health.
What connects these subjects is a broader question: how do genes, environment and experience interact to shape biology—and, ultimately, our lives?
From molecular biology to science across boundaries
My scientific career began with fundamental questions about DNA, genome stability and the mechanisms cells use to respond to stress. That work led naturally to epigenetics—the study of biological information that can change how genes behave without changing the DNA sequence itself.
Over time, those questions expanded beyond individual genes and cells. I became increasingly interested in how environmental conditions shape organisms, whether some of those effects persist across generations, and how the same principles may help us understand human health, aging and disease. This has led my laboratory and collaborators into areas ranging from plant biotechnology and medicinal plants to cannabinoids, inflammation, metabolism and longevity.
Beyond the laboratory
Science is only one part of how I understand the world. My interests extend into history, archaeology, human evolution, culture and the ways societies have tried to explain nature, health and themselves. These interests increasingly shape my writing, including books that move between scientific evidence and broader questions about human experience.
I am particularly drawn to questions that sit between established disciplines—where biology meets history, where medicine meets culture, and where modern scientific ideas encounter much older ways of understanding the world. I see writing as another form of investigation: a way to follow questions beyond the boundaries of a laboratory or an academic field.
Teaching and mentorship
Teaching has always been closely connected to my research. I teach genetics, epigenetics, biotechnology, and cannabis and human health, with an emphasis on helping students understand not only what science has discovered, but how scientific knowledge is built, challenged and revised.
I have also had the privilege of training and mentoring students and researchers at different stages of their careers. I see mentorship as more than teaching techniques or producing results—it is about developing independence, curiosity, critical thinking and the confidence to pursue difficult questions.
Looking forward
I remain most interested in questions that do not fit neatly within a single discipline. My current work continues to connect epigenetics, biotechnology and human health, while my writing explores broader questions about science, history and human culture. Across both, the goal is the same: to understand how biology, environment and human experience interact—and where those connections might lead us next.