Dennis J. Thiele received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Rutgers in 1983, under the direction of Professor Michael Leibowitz. As a postdoctoral scholar at the National Cancer Institute Dr. Thiele established himself as a leader in the study of the biological functions of copper and stress-induced gene regulation. After a long career at the University of Michigan, where he won the University’s Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award in 2001, he moved to his present position at the Duke University Medical Center. He is a leading scholar regarding metal metabolism, establishing the mechanisms by which eukaryotic cells sense copper ions and regulate levels of this essential, but toxic, metal. Dr. Thiele's commitment to education is apparent not only by the many doctoral students he has mentored, but by his substantial efforts to improve science education at the high-school level.