Mowgli Holmes is a biologist trained in molecular genetics, microbiology, and evolutionary theory. He received his PhD from the Columbia University Department of Microbiology and Immunology, where he was a National Research Service Award Fellow.

He is the Chief Scientific Officer of Phylos Bioscience, a biotechnology company studying the Cannabis genome. He is also a founding board member of the Cannabis Safety Institute and a member of the Rules Advisory Committee responsible for implementing the legal Cannabis system recently created by Measure 91 in Oregon.