Phillip M. Gerk received his Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago, then did a clinical research fellowship at Auburn University. He then attended the University of Kentucky where he received his Ph.D. and stayed to perform postdoctoral research. He has been a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Department of Pharmaceutics since 2004, where he performs his research on drug metabolism, transport, and oral bioavailability.