Don Malkoff majored in physics at Harvard University, studied medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, and trained to become a board-certified neurologist at the University of Michigan. He was a researcher in the fields of electron microscopy and biology at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratories and at the National Institutes of Health at their Gerontology Branch.

After years in the private practice of medicine, Don entered into the creation of an overseas oil company, traveling throughout Europe and the Middle East as he became embroiled in a series of exciting international adventures.

On his return to the states, Don obtained a Masters Degree in computer science at the University of California, San Diego, during which time he taught computer science and also served as an expert in artificial intelligence for the US Navy. He subsequently was Chief Scientist for a number of defense corporations, with more than a hundred publications and reports focusing on a wide swath of the military and intelligence services: the economy; strategic thinking; space and remote sensing; analysis of the brain on the essence of denial and deception; matters of ships, planes, and helicopters; image analysis; nuclear submarines; new methods for medical forensic analysis; and even the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

Don retired in Northern Virginia in 2009, spending time with his wife Maggie and their beagle, "Moose", and dabbling in photography. "The Lansing Effect", and its sequel, "The Black Devil of Damavand", are his first ventures at fiction. He hopes you find as much enjoyment in reading the books as he did in writing them.