Dr Danil Mikhailov

Danil Mikhailov, Ph.D. is a computer scientist and social scientist and a world leading expert in the application of technology and data innovation for social impact. Danil's main research interests are in Science and Technology Studies, including: social media, AI and misinformation; technology and AI ethics, particularly where informed by non-western cultural context; development of methodologies of responsible data science and AI programs, particularly in lower-and-middle-income countries and settings; and the anthropology of interdisciplinary science and technology teams. A second, unrelated area of research interest is the history, philosophy and practice of traditional Chinese martial arts.

In parallel to his research Danil serves as the Executive Director of data.org, where Danil launched global data for social impact programs in climate, health, and financial inclusion to build digital public goods, train a new generation of purpose-driven data practitioners, and design sustainable data ecosystems in Latin America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the US. Prior to data.org, Danil was Head of Data & Innovation at Wellcome where he founded and directed the Wellcome Data Labs, an interdisciplinary team of data scientists, software developers, and social scientists, creating open-source data tools supporting Wellcome’s mission. Danil has served on executive and advisory boards of multiple other high profile academic, nonprofit and public sector initiatives, including founding and chairing the Digital Strategy Forum for Science, Art, and Culture, in the United Kingdom, co-founding the Research on Research Institute that studies the processes and structures of scientific research, and co-founding and chairing the Global Pandemic Data Alliance, formed under the auspices of the G7 to improve the effectiveness of world's pandemic & epidemic data infrastructure.

Danil holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and Communications from the University of Brunel, an MA in Philosophy, from Birkbeck, University of London, an MA in Chinese Studies, from SOAS, University of London, and a BSc in IT & Business Management, University of York.