Riley hails from the swampy flatlands and alabaster coasts of Sarasota, Florida, where he earned a BS in Microbiology from the University of South Florida. After moving to Corvallis in 2015 to pursue a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology, he furthered his research at OSU, continuing in the Mehl lab as a Postdoctoral scholar in 2021. Riley's research focuses on developing and applying tetrazine encoding technologies, with an emphasis on basic tool development, genetic code expansion in Eukaryotic systems, and protein-protein and protein-surface bioorthogonal conjugations. In his spare time, Riley enjoys cooking, skateboarding, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.