Dr. David A. Penning earned a B.S. (2010) and M.S. (2012) from the University of Central Missouri. He earned his PhD in 2016 from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is an Associate Professor of Biology at Missouri Southern State University. He created and oversees the Reptile Physiology Lab which houses several hundred reptiles. His primary research efforts focus on the anatomy, behavior, physiology, biomechanics, and evolution of snakes.