Prior to joining Marian in 2001 Lance Urven attended the University of Illinois for his B.S. degree in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, followed by a Master’s degree in Zoology at Western Illinois University. He earned a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California-Davis, where he studied embryology of the reproductive system, and did post-doctoral research in molecular biology at the Johns Hopkins University and the Southwestern Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio. He has taught general biology, anatomy and physiology, research methods, and developmental biology, among others, and has taught and done cell and developmental biology research at UW-Whitewater and UW-Madison, with research models over the years including chickens, turkeys, quail, mice, South American opossums, cattle, horses, Siamese fighting fish, and zebrafish. He has received the UW-Whitewater College of Letters and Sciences Teacher of the Year Award and Marian’s Underkofler Award. He dotes on his grandchildren, encourages and occasionally accompanies his wife in her historic costuming and history re-enactment activities, and looks forward to visits to amusement parks at every opportunity.