He has an unidentified patron who underwrites his research. Amongst his skills is crime scene investigation, in order to locate genetic materials such that mutant identification can be accomplished; he's built up quite the team to assist in this over the years. He has accurate estimates of how long a worst case investigation will take, and will not make estimates based upon non-worst case scenarios. He doesn't suffer fools gladly. Physically he's a wiry gray haired man.