Dave is from Fairfield, OH. He went to Mississippi State to earn a master’s degree in Aquaculture and then worked in catfish research in Stoneville, MS. His research with copper sulfate started after seeing its use in the catfish industry, and after 2 years, went back to MSU to earn a Ph.D. in Toxicology. He then spent 2 years in New Zealand as a post-doctoral researcher on the effects of pulp mill effluent on fish, and set up an analytical lab based on what he learned during his degrees.

Dave moved back to the States to find a real job and found the perfect one in Stuttgart, AR with the USDA/Agricultural Research Service. They were looking for someone to help work on drug approval research with copper sulfate and catfish; they knew his name from his previous journal publications on the subject. Dave was hired at the Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center in 1997 where he has been working with fish disease problems and drug approval research in catfish, hybrid striped bass and tilapia. He also collaborates with a colleague in Germany on the use of peracetic acid in aquaculture.

Last year, Dave and his team received the Federal Laboratory Consortium - Mid-Continent region “Excellence in Technology Transfer” award for work on use of copper sulfate to control catfish egg mortality from fungal infections.