Hi, I'm Daniel. I am a postdoctoral researcher and fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, where I work with Dr. Megan Palmer to identify and address risks to humankind from synthetic biology - like lab accidents, unintended effects on ecosystems, and deliberate misuse of pathogens. I use a combination of data science, survey research, policy analysis, and qualitative methods to help us understand our collective options for regulating synthetic biology.

Previously, I was a social psychologist and data scientist at the Project for Education Research That Scales, where I worked on the Engagement Project - a professional development program to help teachers make their classrooms more engaging, supportive, and meaningful for all students. I also contributed to an R library of data-analysis tools called Gymnast.

I completed a Ph.D. in Education at Stanford in 2018 under Prof. Carol Dweck. In my dissertation, I measured and influenced two novel "employment mindsets" that contribute to adults' motivation to seek out job-skill training.

In my spare time I'm part of the Effective Altruism community, where I explore ways that social science can help address humanity's most pressing problems. I'm currently mentoring three Stanford undergraduates through the Stanford Existential Risks Initiative.