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Joe graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with his Bachelor of Science in 2009 and a Ph.D. in 2012. He then completed a fellowship at the University of Chicago in gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition,

where his research focused on examining the gut microbiome, host-microbial interactions in metabolism, and host physiology. In 2017, he joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Medicine

in Memphis, Tenn., where he is currently an Assistant Professor of the Departments of Pediatrics and Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry. He also serves on faculty for the College of Graduate Health Sciences, Biomedical Sciences Training Program. Upon joining UTHSC, Joe established the first germ-free/gnotobiotic murine laboratory ever built in the state of Tennessee, which he now directs. Using these technologies, he and his

team explore how human microbial communities shape health and disease processes. He is also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of AVnovum

Therapeutics, Inc. in Chicago, an early stage pharmaceutical company with patented novel antifungal compounds designed to prevent and treat fungal infection in immunocompromised patients.

In addition to excelling in science, Joe was a competitive middle-distance runner, receiving All-American recognition in track and field while attending UW-Madison in 2007. Joe lives in Memphis, Tenn., with his wife, Kate, and their three children.