Aidan received his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech, then went on to complete his PhD in Ashton Cropp’s lab at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Department of Chemistry. His thesis research focused on non-canonical amino acid synthesis and genetic code expansion in yeast.

Aidan grew up in Northern Virginia and originally wanted to become a professor, but fell in love with research while working as a lab assistant collecting and breeding mosquitos at Virginia Tech.

Outside of the lab, Aidan spends his time painting, cooking, reading, and running. He also enjoys chess, animals of all kinds, and traveling with his partner.  His favorite destination was Inishmore in Ireland.