Dave has a Bachelor’s of Science in Zoology and Physiology from the University of Wyoming. His research interests include Cretaceous microvertebrates, biogeochemistry, and paleoecology. He advanced to PhD candidacy in September 2011 and graduated in 2015. For his PhD research, he investigated the fate of vertebrate faunas, particularly lissamphibians and lizards, leading up to and across the K-T boundary. He was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2011.