My training at Arizona State University was primarily as an electron microscopist looking at the ultrastructure of mammalian eggs and embryos. That training was followed by a change in direction where I identified specific signaling mechanisms regulating the initial stages of embryogenesis when the fertilized egg transitions into an embryo. My focus was on calcium dependent enzymes such as protein kinase C. These experiments involved heavy training using confocal microscopy and numerous biochemical assays. I then trained with Elaine Fuchs at the University of Chicago as a post-doctoral fellow. There, I was immersed in molecular biology including knockout and transgenic technologies. I brought those technologies to Georgetown University in 2000, where I was asked to take over the Directorship of the transgenic core facility, which had been running for only a year. I was asked to write an application for the Comprehensive Cancer Center Grant to elevate the transgenic facility to Core status. It was funded with a score of Excellent. Overall, I have worked on embryonic stem cells for the past 20 years and I have published over 30 papers on the topic, all in excellent peer-reviewed journals. My average impact factor for all of my publications is ~7.1 based on impact factors calculated on the Web of Knowledge web site. My work on signaling in ES cells and the role of microRNAs has attracted a great deal of attention, nationally and internationally.