Thomas G Back was born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Montreal, Canada. He obtained his B.Sc. from McGill U., and spent a year at the F.W. Horner Pharmaceutical Co. PhD studies followed with Professor David Harpp at McGill U and PDF research with Professor Sir Derek Barton at Imperial College. He then spent two years at the National Research Council (Division of Biological Sciences) as a Research Associate with Dr. Ted Edwards. In 1978, he joined the faculty at the U. of Calgary and became Full Professor in 1987. He is a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada and a Member of the American Chemical Society, and was the recipient of the Alfred Bader Award of the Canadian Society for Chemistry for research in organic chemistry. Current interests include organosulfur/selenium chemistry and the design and synthesis of bioactive compounds, such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and ryanodine receptor inhibitors that serve as potential cardiovascular and neuroprotective drugs.