Ron received his PhD in Behavioral and Integrative Neuroscience from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at UNC Chapel Hill, he worked in the lab of Dr. Kate Reissner, investigating structural and functional changes in nucleus accumbens astrocytes following abstinence from cocaine self-administration. He then did his postdoc at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) with Drs. David Talmage and Lorna Role. During his postdoc, he discovered two distinct populations of ventral pallidal cholinergic neurons which are differentially engaged in approach vs. avoidance behaviors. He started his own lab in the department of Cellular Biology at UGA in the fall of 2025. He is particularly interested in how astrocytes and cholinergic signaling interact to mediate motivated behaviors.