Charles attended Ohio State University as an undergraduate where he received his bachelor’s of science degree. During this time he researched milkweedbug diapause in the laboratory of Dr. David Denlinger. Next, he earned his master’s degree in the entomology department at University of Illinois investigating bumble bee color pattern development in the laboratory of Dr. Sydney Cameron. Most recently, Charles obtained his PhD in the laboratory of Dr. May Berenbaum at University of Illinois studying the coevolutionary relationship between web building caterpillars in genus Depressaria and their apiaceous hostplants. In the laboratory of Dr. Margarita Lόpez-Uribe, Charles uses a combination of behavioral and molecular techniques to assess degree of Africanization in honey bee colonies throughout the state of Pennsylvania, as well as monitor phenotypic traits associated with different genetic stocks as a measure of colony health.