Michael Distler was formerly a senior researcher with the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and the project manager for the Dataverse Project. In August 2017, Michael completed his doctoral degree in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland. His research focused on the global use of terrorist tactics, specifically suicide and vehicle bombings, from 1980 through 2016. He also received his B.A. and M.A. in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Maryland. He has worked with START since 2007 on a number of different projects.