How did you come to where you currently are in your career? What experiences helped you decide to specialize in evolutionary science?
I started out as an engineering major in college (U of Rochester), but midway through realized that I had  a much stronger interest in biology. I was lucky to be at a school which has a very strong bio program, and I ended up majoring in that instead. Bio majors were required to meet with a faculty mentor each semester, and these discussion convinced me that I was most interested in evolutionary biology and that I should consider a PhD in that concentration. But I was a bit unsure about grad school, and thus took a year off to do biology-related work to try and convince myself. I worked in Maine for the National Audubon Society as a research intern, and then worked at a vet office in California. Although these jobs were completely unrelated to the work I do now, the experiences and a year off gave me the time to think about my future and to decide that I should give grad school a try.

Do you have any comments on future research projects of yours or projects currently underway?
I am very happy with the direction my work has taken. It is a nice combination of basic research in evolutionary biology using microbes as rigorous model systems to test theory, and applied research directly related to ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. The work is very interdisciplinary, using theory, genomics and experimental approaches, as well as bridges to engineering and systems biology. The disease related work concerns infectious diseases such as food-borne and vector-borne pathogens, and also cancer. This keeps things interesting around the lab, and ensures that the lab group is very diverse in interests.

How do you feel about the future of evolutionary science and the impact it will have? Have you experienced any criticism from particular scientific communities?
I believe that it is a great time to do evolutionary biology. It is a science that is central to all aspects of biology, and is increasingly appreciated as highly relevant to biomedicine. The unfortunate continued debate over teaching creation science in US schools negatively affects my field, but does not really affect me directly. The real controversy surrounds human evolution, and that is away from my area. No one doubts or challenges that microbes evolve, and that this is crucial for understanding disease evolution (e.g., rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria).

Do you have any advice towards specialization in evolutionary science? Can you suggest any up and coming careers in your area of expertise?
Evolutionary biology is very broad, and I believe that anyone can find a particular niche if this science excites them. However, I believe that the interface of microbiology and evolution is a terrific goal for young scientists. The reason is that microbiology is still very much in a discovery phase; we increasingly realize that host-associated microbiomes influence traits, immunity and disease, and that the extensive biodiversity of microbes in the wild remains largely undescribed. Thus, natural history and biomedical impact of microbes will continue to be active areas in biology research for the near future. Moreover, microbes are increasingly harnessed in applied science and industry, such as biofuels, and bioremediation.

How have you managed your hectic work life with your personal life?
This is extremely difficult, because scientific research and academia are activities that do not end when one leaves the office to go home. Thus, balancing work and family can be terrifically tough. My best advice is to be very aware of setting realistic goals for the work day, and avoiding distractions. I greatly enjoy teaching and advising a large number of students, but it helps for me to stay home one day a week and write in peace and quiet, so that I can keep up on preparing lectures, writing scientific articles and writing grant applications. I selfishly guard my evening time and weekends, so that I have ample time to spend with my wife and children.

In your seminar, you eluded to the ethics of planned extinction. What are your thoughts on that?
It is a fascinating topic, which I think deserves greater discussion and research. I find it ironic that humans consider themselves the earth’s caretakers, but we selfishly use limited resources, which threatens other species with extinction. We feel very comfortable with planned extinctions of human pathogens, and I agree that this would reduce human pain and suffering. But we must think carefully how eliminating a species – even a seemingly lowly parasite – would alter ecological communities in largely unknown ways. We have a very poor understanding of community processes and forcing species into extinction may have unforeseen consequences. At the least, I feel that this makes for stimulating discussion in the classroom!