A graduate of Columbia University and SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, Dr. Danielo Perez has over five years of experience working as an Austin, Texas-based forensic pathologist. Outside of his professional activities in Austin, Dr. Danielo Perez enjoys writing, studying Eastern philosophy and energy work, and reading. He lists Frank Herbert among his favorite authors. 

Born in Washington in 1920, Frank Herbert was a science fiction writer most well-known for his novel Dune. Herbert spent six years researching and writing the novel, which more than 20 publishers rejected before it was finally accepted and published in 1965. 

Although it had difficulty making it to print, Dune went on to become a cult favorite with millions of copies sold worldwide. The novel was also adapted into a 1984 film. Over the course of his career, Herbert wrote nearly 30 novels and short story collections. He was working on the seventh novel in the Dune series at the time of his death in 1986.

In early 2018, Herbert’s hometown of Tacoma, Washington, announced that it is naming a new park in his honor. The 11-acre Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park will also include a paved pedestrian loop called the Frank Herbert Trail.