He graduated with a doctoral degree from the University of Glasgow and was a researcher at Trinity College Dublin before he began working in academic publishing in 1989, holding positions with Elsevier and the journals Science and Nature.

[5][6] During his tenure, he shifted the format from biweekly to monthly; its style changed from a "quirky tabloid" to a "stylish and engaging magazine".

[7] He published monthly editorials about topics such as vaccines,[8] the longevity of punishment for scientific misconduct,[9] and whether or not intelligent design should be taught in public schools.

[14] Several new journal titles were added to Annual Reviews since his tenure began, including in cancer biology; biomedical data science; control, robotics, and autonomous systems; criminology; and developmental psychology.

[15] He also developed and launched Knowable Magazine, the first webzine published by Annual Reviews, which is written for a general audience.