Photo credit: Jared Lazarus

Dan Vahaba is a New Jersey-based research communicator and the Science Engagement Manager at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute.

After earning his Ph.D. in Neuroscience & Behavior from UMass Amherst, Dan joined Smith College as a Mellon visiting assistant professor of public discourse in the disciplines. The mouthful of a title essentially just meant he got to teach science communication alongside content across five courses a year in biology, neuroscience, and biochemistry.

Eager to practice rather than profess, Dan traded the lectern for a writing desk at Duke University, where he served as the Director of Communications for the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, as well the main beat reporter for all-things neuroscience across campus.

Though North Carolina was lovely, Dan moved to New Jersey in 2024 to be closer to family and farther away from snakes. He now resides in Princeton, NJ, and (happily) hasn't seen a single copperhead since.