Daniel Lee

• Office of the President

Daniel A. Lee is a Senior Program Scientist in the Office of the President at Schmidt Sciences, where he advises on science strategy and leads work on open science and scholarly infrastructure. He also represents Schmidt Sciences in collaborations with other science funders focused on strengthening how research is funded, shared, and trusted.

Previously, Dan created and led programs at Schmidt Sciences and Schmidt Futures, including the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Fellowship and the Virtual Earth Systems Research Institute, an international network working to make climate models more useful for decision-making. Before entering philanthropy, he spent two decades as a research scientist, most recently studying how the brain builds and regulates itself. His research at Johns Hopkins and Caltech produced more than 20 peer-reviewed papers and was supported by an NIH Pathway to Independence Award and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. That experience inside the research system continues to shape his approach to science philanthropy.

Dan holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley. He serves on the National Academies’ Action Collaborative on the Future of Research Communication and on steering committees for open research and public data initiatives. Beyond Schmidt Sciences, he advises foundation leaders on philanthropic strategy, has co-founded nonprofit initiatives, and served on the board of the Wiseburn Education Foundation, where he supported STEM education and emergency assistance for local families.