Dan completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Otago. He then completed his doctorate at the same university, working with James Crowley. He then received a Rutherford Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out independent research under the mentorship of Paul Kruger at the University of Canterbury (NZ). He has recently joined the School as a DECRA Fellow.

When he's not doing chemistry he is with his family, or reading or writing fiction, drawing, doing cryptic crosswords, or playing or watching sports.