Dr John Medina is a molecular biologist on the faculty of the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also a consultant and regular columnist for an American psychiatric organization on the genetics and neurobiology of human behavior. In the course of his research career, which has included the isolation and characterization of genes involved in cardiovascular development, Dr Medina became concerned with the public communication of biological sciences to both lay and professional medical audiences. He was recently recognized as the Merrill Dow/Continuing Medical Education Teacher of the Year.