Beyond the Data: While my profession is defined by rigorous research, my passion lies in exploration. Follow me on Instagram to see the world through my lens, where I document my travels and showcase my photography and editing work.
It began in 2013. Fresh out of Computer Science, I found myself not in a tech startup, but as an intern in a pharmaceutical firm. It was there, amidst the rows of numbers and spreadsheets, that I discovered my true language: Data.
I realized I had a specific talent; I could listen to what the data was saying and shape it to tell the truth of the business. This skill propelled me to Assistant Product Manager, where I crafted marketing strategies for OTC products. But I wanted more impact. I made a pivotal decision to pursue a Master’s in Development Studies, a decision that finally married my technical programming roots with the human-centric world of development practice.
This path led me to impactful work with USAID and UNHCR projects, but the true turning point was the mentorship I received. I met Dr. Luke Sonnet, under whose wing I delved into the realm of data analysis. Though I will always consider myself a student of the craft, I have built a proven track record. My specialty is shaping raw data into panel form and using OLS to solve problems. I like to think of myself as a "Data Wizard" :-)
From Peshawar to Notre Dame. Today, I write this as a Research Manager at the Kellogg Institute, University of Notre Dame. It is a reality that feels worlds apart from where I began. My journey from the historic streets of Peshawar to the United States was paved with grit, the generosity of mentors, and an unyielding conviction to believe in oneself—transcending the fear of embarrassment and failure.
She trusted a naive boy with her most precious projects. I still recall the sting of embarrassment in early meetings, acutely aware of my lack of international education. Yet, where others might have seen a liability, Dr. Golden never lost faith. She has been the unshakable pillar of my career and has fundamentally shaped my life. I offer her my deepest respect; I simply cannot thank her enough.
Dr. Gulzar is the catalyst for my professional ascent. He opened doors I did not know existed, giving me multiple opportunities within his research and introducing me to brilliant minds at Stanford, Yale, and Princeton. He didn't just give me a role; he gave me a horizon.
In this capacity, I demonstrate strong global leadership by managing international research teams across Colombia, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. My role centers on quantitative analysis and methodological rigor; I oversee the entire lifecycle of data collection and management for multiple ongoing projects, supervising coding workflows to ensure absolute consistency. Beyond the technical scope, I drive strategic operations by managing research budgets, reporting on project fund allocation, and guiding the analytical writing for high-level research reports and academic papers.
Operating on the ground in Pakistan, specifically within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), I led advanced data analysis and stakeholder management for Princeton's research initiatives. I collaborated closely with principal investigators to produce complex project reports, piloting survey instruments locally to ensure they effectively captured the region's nuances. I exercised operational leadership by training local field staff on research protocols and monitoring teams to ensure strict adherence to procedures. Furthermore, I fostered critical government relations by developing new partnerships with the KP Local Government Department and Election Commission.
While stationed in Pakistan, I managed a massive, multi-national research program spanning six countries—Argentina, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Lebanon, and Pakistan. This role required strategic program management from my base in the region, where I hired country managers and supervised social experiments across all territories. I established a centralized coordination cell to streamline communication strategies and developed a robust research database to organize complex datasets. My work culminated in a comprehensive analysis of these experiments, where I designed the complete analysis strategy and presented findings in detailed reports.
From my base in Pakistan, I focused on political communication and data integrity, establishing a coordination strategy to effectively engage with provincial incumbents across four provinces. I built relationships within the assembly to enroll incumbents in the study and developed the local communication strategy. My technical skills were pivotal in gathering, correcting, and validating research data to create representative visualizations for high-stakes presentations. I also ensured regulatory compliance by independently managing documentation and filings, helping the team navigate complex local regulatory requirements.
As a Program Consultant for the U.S.-Pakistan Center on Advanced Studies in Energy, I conducted thorough reviews of internal systems and operations to devise and deploy strategic improvement plans. I developed targeted training plans to address areas of need and produced detailed, relevant reports to support critical business decisions. My contributions to the field were recognized at the National and International Conferences on Sustainable Green Technologies in 2016 and 2017.
Leveraging market analytics, I led category, brand, and competitive analyses to identify key consumer trends and drive strategic conclusions. I managed cross-functional teams to commercialize new products, working within a product pod environment alongside product developers, design teams, and software personnel. My role also involved rigorous vendor management, collaborating with vendors to verify service-level performance and influencing supplier manufacturing processes and technology decision-making to optimize customer service policies.
Created a school improvement plan illustration that will be guiding light for Govt of Punjab Pak.
Assisted in writing code for cleaning and analysis of paper.
Started as Research Assistant; supervised endline. Then progressed to assisting in writing for cleaning, gathering election data of GE 2018. Assisted in creating a database of GE 2018 elections Pakistan. Helped in merging of datasets and cross checking progress of MPs. Over the years maintained relationships with MPs in KP, arranged multiple conferences and events. Also organized KP Governance conference 2019. Also helped in data for forecasting exercise.
Assisted in writing code for cleaning and analysis of paper.
Project Director, developed survey tool, supervised data collection, delivered data and wrote preliminary analysis along with cleaning.
Project Director, developed survey tool, supervised data collection, delivered data and wrote all analysis along with cleaning, also wrote the entire appendix. Also completed the gender Survey 2025 for the project using conjoint and have written the conjoint analysis.
Arranged workshops in Pakistan with MPs, arranged conferences and collected data in Pakistan for forecasting, cleaned and did the prelim analysis.
Project Manager Pakistan, completed the legislator data collection in Pakistan for the project.
Written code for data cleaning and gathering. Arranged the datasets made available to challengers for the challenges to submit and performed rigorous web scraping to maintain a dynamic database.
Assisted in writing code for cleaning and analysis of paper.
Project Manager Pakistan, completed the legislator data collection in Pakistan for the project.
Project Director, developed survey tool, supervised data collection, delivered data and wrote preliminary analysis along with cleaning.
Project Director, developed survey tool, supervised data collection, delivered data and wrote preliminary analysis along with cleaning.
Providing professional mentorship and career guidance to students at the Lahore University of Management Sciences to help navigate the development and research sectors.
Focused on high-level policy research and data analysis, contributing to evidence-based policy making in Pakistan.
Managed large-scale research projects, coordinated field teams, and ensured data quality for economic research initiatives.
Provided research assistance and data support for projects led by Dr. Saad Gulzar, contributing to political economy research.