Douglas Wilkin, Ph.D., is the science department chair and coordinator of the STEAM Initiative at the American University Preparatory School in Los Angeles, CA. Prior to teaching, Dr. Wilkin had an extensive career as a biomedical scientist, holding faculty positions at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, where he studied birth defects focusing on skeletal disorders. He also held a faculty position with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy in Quantico, VA, where he led a team developing forensic DNA technologies.