Daniel A. Beard is a Professor in the Biotechnology and Bioengineering Center and the Department of Physiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Research in his laboratory is focused on systems engineering approaches to understanding the operation of physiological systems in health and disease. A recent major effort in his group has been on theoretical and experimental characterization of the thermodynamics, kinetics and electrophysiology of cardiac mitochondria. Additional research interests include non-equilibrium thermodynamics in biochemical networks, mass transport and microvascular exchange in physiological systems, and drug metabolism and physiologically-based pharmacokinetics.