I was born in Soviet Union in 1967. In 1991 I graduated from Moscow State University with MS in Chemistry. In early 1990-s I went to United States. From 1994 till 1998 I was a graduate student at Cornell University with Prof. Ben Widom. After obtaining PhD in Chemistry in 1998 I became a postdoctoral research associate in University of Maryland with Prof. Michael E. Fisher. In 2000 I became an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Rice University in Houston, TX, USA. Over the years I rose to a position of Full Professor of Chemistry. I am also a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University.