Welcome
Welcome to the Great State of New Mexico and its proud Southern Institution:
Presently I am a New Mexico State University academic who serves the people of Southern New Mexico. Overall I am interested in the understanding of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus.
The only reason I am a Microbiologist is because as an undergraduate I walked into Professor Brian J. Wilkinson’s laboratory looking for a job. Brian immediately offered me an job doing dishes and the opportunity to conduct research in his laboratory on the mechanism of methicillin-resistance in S. aureus. Good picture of Brian enjoying a good cigar after another exceptional day of collegial conquest. It was my good friend Professor Radheshyam K. Jayaswal who first introduced me to Molecular Microbiology, which I of course practice everyday. Thats he and I next to Billy the Kid’s likeness.
I was then given the chance of a lifetime to study antimicrobial resistance with Professor Brigitte Berger-Bachi. The experience Brigitte provided me in Switzerland changed my life forever and refined my scientific focus for the rest of my career. During my European experience, I also become very aware of just how incredibly uncultured I was. Everyone in education needs to live in a foreign country for a year or two, it helps you begin to understand how wrong your opinions can be viewed on a world stage.
My only Post-doctoral position was in the laboratory of Professor Stuart B Levy, the most outspoken advocate for the prudent use of antimicrobials. The things that Stuart stands for could one day save your loved ones from an untimely death caused by antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Stuart taught me all I know about grantsmanship and like many of my mentors, that I need to lighten up and listen better. I also got another opportunity to meet great people, like Patrick McDermott and David White (Pat has the pastel tie, and Dave is the groom below).
From Boston, I was lucky to land a job in the School of Biomedical Sciences at Curtin University of Technology in Perth Australia. It is amazing how academe can broaden ones horizons. There I was mentored by Professor Warren B. Grubb, who recently retired. He was the one who got me interested in the novel steroid antimicrobial fusidic acid. Warren even showed me the ever-lastings for the first time, which me mate Adrian and his beautiful children can be seen lounging in above. These flowers come out all over the outback in Western Australia for brief periods following spring rains. One of the many spectacles of nature I have witnessed that I will never forget.
I remain somewhat adventurous so I own motorcycles and enjoy getting close to wildlife.
I was a naturalist by the age of 8, so it makes some sense I turned out the way I am. I could have become any type of biologist, but I walked through a Microbiologist’s door first.
