Prior to arriving in Seattle, Jonathan was on a four year unpaid vacation in the City of Baltimore, where he completed a Bachelors in Science in the fields of Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science (double degree) at the Johns Hopkins University.

Leaving the delights of suburban Detroit behind, he fulfilled an important geographic diversity requirement for JHU (not being from New Jersey or New York) and was widely recognized as being among the less cruel and more helpful individuals. Throughout his undergraduate education, he secretly enjoyed the history, political science and sociology courses much more than the engineering course work.

Resolutely uncertain of a career in clinical medicine, during his sophomore year, Jonathan completed a course in field emergency medical care and joined the campus emergency response unit. To his great surprise, he didn’t vomit upon his shoes, was of moderate help to the first patient and actually rather enjoyed the experience. After a few more memorable calls, including a particularly storied experience involving vomit, tide, bubbles, partial nudity and a near plunge out of a third floor window, Jonathan was sold on a career in medicine. At Baltimore City Community College (along with Stringer Bell) he went on to complete basic emergency medical technician training.

Jonathan first visited the Pacific Northwest over the Summer of 1995, climbed to the top of Mt. Rainier, and experienced the Pacific Ocean for the first time on the Olympic Coast. Now, as a card carrying member of the City of Seattle, he regularly goes hiking or nordic skiing, once a week if it can be managed. Jonathan commutes to work each day by bicycle, and has only been hit by a car three times.

Jonathan’s research interests include transplant immunology, stem cell biology, the epigenetics of differentiation and gene transfer into mammalian cells. He is currently working towards both an MD and PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle. His PhD focuses on how embryonic stem cells decide to become a more differentiated cell type.