That's Dr Holland to you.
Dexter Holland, lead singer and guitarist of acclaimed punk rockers The Offspring, has earned his PhD from the University Of Southern California in Molecular Biology this week after years of writing his 175-page dissertation.
As Billboard writes, Holland's thesis is titled the 'Discovery of Mature MicroRNA Sequences within the Protein-Coding Regions of Global HIV-1 Genomes: Predictions of Novel Mechanisms for Viral Infection and Pathogenicity' (what a mouthful) and has been years in the making, with Holland putting his dissertation on hold when The Offspring started taking off and touring more.
In a blog post, Holland writes, "You might ask, why are you getting a Ph.D.? Well, pick the correct answer from the choices below!
C) I am interested in the molecular dynamics of HIV infection and of virus:host interactions in general."
He continues, "My research focused on the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. I am interested in virology and wanted to contribute in some small way to the knowledge which has been learned about HIV and AIDS. This terrible disease remains a worldwide epidemic - over 35 million people worldwide are currently infected and living with the HIV virus. Over one million people a year die from this disease.
"My research is not meant to be a cure or even an immediate step toward a cure, but I believe that by adding to the vast amount of information that we’ve learned about HIV in the last 30 years or so, we’ll get there. Toward that end, I’m going to continue to do research, and you’ll probably see some of my research papers get published here and there over the next few years."
Holland finishes the blog post with word that with his PhD done, The Offspring will "be doing a bunch of shows all around the world this year plus recording new stuff every chance we get. Look for new music by us out soon".
If you'd like to read Dr Holland's thesis, check it out
here.
Comments