I was born in San Francisco, California in 1962 while my father completed Dental School. I was raised in the East Bay Area of San Francisco and enjoyed snow skiing and competed in track and field. My father trained me as an orthodontic laboratory technician for part time employment through high school and college. After graduating from La Jolla High School in 1980, I studied chemistry at San Diego State University. I became involved in organic chemistry research with Dr. Edward Grubbs and helped publish this work. In 1984, I received the Outstanding Graduate Award from the College of Sciences at San Diego State.
Following college, I began medical school at Washington University, in St. Louis. I continued on at Washington University in surgical training under Dr. Samuel Wells. While in training, I married Joni in 1991. After completing chief residency in St. Louis, Joni gave birth to first child, Victoria Leigh. Our family moved to northern California and I began surgical practice in 1993. I enjoyed a busy clinical practice in general/vascular surgery including trauma, renal transplant, and advanced laparoscopy. Joni and I had two more beautiful children, Taylor and Olivia. In 2002, I was asked to join the faculty of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. I currently enjoy clinical research in minimally invasive surgery and surgical resident instruction.
