Andy earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2002 with concentrations in Math and Chemistry. He then changed career directions and began working as a technician in an immunology lab at the Mayo Clinic and then moved with the lab to The Johns Hopkins University. He completed a PhD in 2012 Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behaviour where his focus was understanding how ecology can affect the immune system in spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). In 2013 he moved to Australia to join his wife Dr Emily Flies where she was pursuing her PhD in disease ecology. Andy worked for a year developing viral vectors before acquiring a 2-year postdoc fellowship to study the role of immune checkpoint molecules Tasmanian devils. In 2015 he moved to the Tasmanian to continue the devil immunology research. His next year of research was funded through an Entrepreneurs' Programme – Research Connections grant with Nexvet and the University of Tasmania. In 2017 he was awarded a 3-year Australian Research Council – Discovery Early Career Researcher Fellowship to improve our understanding of marsupial immunology and develop a vaccine for the Tasmanian devil facial tumour diseases. He was co-founder of Science in the Pub Adelaide in 2014 and Science in the Pub Tasmania in 2015. In 2018 he was co-awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Outstanding Community Engagement at the University of Tasmania. In 2020 he was named the Tasmanian Young Tall Poppy of the Year. In 2021 he was awarded a five year Select Foundation immunology research fellowship at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research. His recent publications focus on an adenovirus-based cancer vaccine (Expert Review of Vaccines, 2020), rapid immunology reagent development (Science Advances, 2020), and "Rewilding immunology (Science, 2020).