Dr. Twombly received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the UCLA Brain Research Institute, with primary focus on neurophysiology. He conducted research on animal models of epilepsy, and coordinated EEG/telemetry recordings of seizure activity from temporal lobe epilepsy patients in the Wadsworth VA and UCLA neurology departments. He then moved to Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago, where he was a postdoctoral fellow and faculty member in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology. He was Principal Investigator of a variety of NIH fellowships and research project grants on mechanisms of action of antiepileptic drugs, effects of alcohol on neuronal ion channels and receptors, and mechanisms of alcohol and aging in cardiac ventricular myocytes. He also served as a member of peer review panels convened by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Dr. Twombly came to NIH in 2001, serving for 9 years as Program Director in the Division of Neuroscience and Behavior at NIAAA. He assumed his current position at NICHD in 2009. Along with his scientific and administrative activities, Dr. Twombly has played a major role at NIH in organizing various science education outreach programs for middle-school and high school students and other members of the public.