Let's Talk Science 

I am a distinguished professor and department chair in the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After earning an undergraduate degree in English literature from UCLA, I left academia for a number of years during which among other things, I drove a taxi cab in New York City, worked as a newspaper reporter, and trained large cats for television and movies. My interest in science awakened by this animal training, I returned to academia to study animal behavior more formally, receiving my PhD from Purdue University. After postdoctoral research at the University of New Mexico, I accepted a position as assistant professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolution Biology at Harvard University in 1986. Leaving Harvard as an associate professor in 1993, I moved to University of Idaho where I became full professor. From 2004 to 2013, I was a professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, serving as interim director of the Barshop Institute before moving to my current position in 2014.

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In the past, my research was primarily field-based, particularly with opossums. I discovered that opossums off the predator-free island of Sapelo Island lived 25% longer than their cousins on the mainland Georgia.  Betting against S. Jay Olshansky, I predicted that there will be someone at least 150 years of age by the year 2150.

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My current research interests include figuring out why different species age at different rates, particularly in especially long-lived organisms such as quahog clams and hydra. I am also interested in studying indicators of animal healthspan as well as the effects of rapamycin on mouse healthspan.

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I am author of more than 190 scientific articles. My book "Why We Age: What Science Is Discovering about the Body’s Journey Through Life" has been translated into 9 languages. Between 2012 and 2013, I wrote a series of biweekly columns for the San Antonio Express News called "On Aging." I currently writes a similar biweekly column on science for AL.com.and contribute occasional pieces to the Huffington Post.  My book on the natural history of exceptional longevity -- Methuselah's Zoo -- is scheduled to appear in the fall of 2018.