Gil Smolin, who wrote the book Reign of the Rat, is a Clinical Professor and Research Ophthalmologist at the University of California Medical School, San Francisco. The author of eight textbooks and over two hundred research articles, he has lectured worldwide. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Smolin has worked for many years in the developing world and received a humanitarian award for his service. He was one of the founders and a board member of a public charity devoted to offering medical assistance to the needy in other countries.