A native of Minnesota, Dr. David Miller received his B.S. and M.S degrees from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Endocrinology-Reproductive Physiology. After completing postdoctoral research at the University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center, he was appointed as Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois in the Department of Animal Sciences and is currently Professor in Animal Sciences and the Institute for Genomic Biology. The major thrust of Dr. Miller’s early research was to develop a molecular understanding of how sperm moved through the zona pellucida and fertilized oocytes. He identified gamete receptors and the signals they activated. In the last 10 years, he has used novel approaches to identify receptors that retain sperm in the oviduct, lengthen sperm lifespan and modulate the development of sperm fertilizing ability. His research has received competitive support from USDA, NIH, and NSF.