What is your hometown?

I grew up in Albion, a small town in southern Michigan.

When did you join the UI faculty?

January 1, 2007 – a true newcomer.

How/when did you become interested in science and medicine?

I always enjoyed the sciences in school, but it was not until the end of my college career when a friend suggested my science interest and personality would be a good fit in medicine. As soon as I started medical school, I knew I wanted to be an academician.

What interested you to pursue a career in dermatology?

I liked the visual nature of the specialty and the ability to combine clinical care and research.

Is there a teacher or mentor who helped shape your career?

The head of the department where I completed my residency training found funding for me to pursue a research fellowship that got me started in my academic career.

How or why did you choose the UI?

The overall academic environment of the University attracted me as well as the history within the department of dermatology.

What kinds of professional opportunities or advantages does being a faculty member at Iowa provide? What about challenges?

It offers the chance to interact with a diverse faculty throughout the University.

Please describe your professional interests.

Autoimmune skin diseases, the role of IgE clasa autoantibodies in skin disease and the cutaneous manifestations of systemic illness.

What are some of your outside interests?

I have two daughters 18 & 21 and am also in the midst of remodeling a home in Iowa City. I also play the hammered dulcimer.

Do you have an insight or philosophy that guides you in your professional work?

Never be afraid to try something new or admit you don’t know an answer.

If you could change one thing about the world (or the world of medicine), what would it be?

That cost is a limiting factor to healthcare access and the treatments that we can offer patients.

What is the biggest change you've experienced in your field since you were a student?

The influence of the computer on research and clinical medicine.

What one piece of advice you would give to today's students?

See everything as an opportunity, and remember your career is a marathon not a sprint.

What do you see as "the future" of medicine?

The advent of biologic agents for therapy and technologic advances in medicine are greatly expanding the diagnostic and therapeutic options we have. As physicians and as a society we are going to have to grapple with the costs of these options.