Daniel Levitin, PhD

Dr. Daniel Levitin works closely with Dr. Roger Dumas leading the scientific empirical validation process and is also managing the independent validation efforts for MIIR with Dr. Vinod Menon at Stanford University.

Daniel is an award-winning Scientist, Educator, Entrepreneur, and Thought leader with more than 40 years of experience in scientific research, music, education, and consulting. He is best known for his influential discoveries about music and the brain. He has published more than 200 scientific articles and is the author of five consecutive #1 bestsellers on neuroscience for the public, starting with This Is Your Brain On Music.

Dan is serving as a section leader on the special NIH panel on defining the future of music and health research in the U.S and is a member of the Global Council on Brain Health panel for music, science and health.

Daniel is James McGill Professor Emeritus in the Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery at McGill University, with cross-appointments in Psychology, Music, Computer Science, and Education, and where he was co-founder of the Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Neuroscience. He is Founding Dean of Arts & Humanities at Minerva University; Distinguished Faculty Fellow at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkely; and Adjunct Professor of Neuroscience at UCLA. He has helped launch 8 start-ups including Shazaam as co-founder and scientific officer (sold to Astral Media/Live Nation); 415 Records, and MoodLogic (both sold to Sony). Daniel has consulted for a broad range of companies including Apple, Microsoft, Fender, AT&T, Sirius/XM, the United States Navy, Farmers Insurance, and has served as a product spokesperson for Philips Consumer Electronics, Sonos, and others. He was one of the “golden ears” experts used in the first Dolby AC compression tests.

A former member of the Board of Governors for NARAS (The Grammys) he served as Science Advisor to Congressman Alan Grayson from 2013–2017. Daniel earned his A.B. (with honors) in Cognitive Science from Stanford University, his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from University of Oregon and completed Post-Doctoral Fellowships at Stanford University, and UC Berkeley.

As a musician (tenor saxophone, guitar, vocals, and bass), he has performed with Mel Tormé, David Byrne, Rosanne Cash, Sting, Bobby McFerrin, Victor Wooten, and Tom Scott. Levitin has produced and consulted on albums by artists including Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, The Grateful Dead, and on the films Good Will Hunting and Pulp Fiction, and has been awarded 17 gold and platinum records.