Dr. Michael R. Cummings is a Research Professor in the Department of Biological, Chemical, and Physical Sciences at Illinois Institute of Technology, Illinois. For over 25 years, he was a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences and in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Illinois. Michael has also served on the faculties of Florida State University and Northwestern University. He earned his B.A. from St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Evanston. Dr. Cummings has also written textbooks in general biology and human genetics for nonmajors. His research interests center on the molecular organization and physical mapping of the heterochromatic regions of human acrocentric chromosomes. At the undergraduate level, he teaches courses in human genetics, Mendelian and molecular genetics, and general biology, and has received numerous awards for teaching excellence given by student organizations, university faculty, and graduating seniors.