Pete was born in Philadelphia, PA. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Biophysical Chemistry in 1999. Pete earned a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, with Prof. Carolyn Bertozzi, studying the role of trehalose in the cell wall of mycobacteria.

Since joining the faculty at the University of Southern Maine, Pete’s research program initially focused on engineering bacteria for increased stress tolerance in order to expedite bioremediation of toxic metals. He received the Cottrell College Science Award, and has returned to studying the role of trehalose in pathogenic bacteria. He has been awarded several patents on both of these projects, and continues to run a small research program focused on developing new antibiotics.

Pete took over as director of QC2 in 2022. In his spare time, Pete likes hiking, woodworking, and brewing beer (mostly porters with the occasional dunkelweiss).