Don Vaughn is a San Diego native, who moved to Houston in 2008 in pursuit of a dual career as a musician and scientist. During the day he works in the neuroscience department at Baylor College of Medicine, where he uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to research freewill and group social dynamics. Specifically, Don investigates neural correlates to explore why humans respond more favorably towards people with similar beliefs and how those preferences can be modulated. At night, Don drums and DJs at clubs and events. As a DJ, he plays house, top40s, old-school rap (among other things), in addition to original mashups and live remixes. As a drummer, he teams up with DJs, remixing beats on the fly, adding a shot of live energy to an otherwise electronic medium. Over the last few months he has been working to integrate his scientific and musical talents by building an electronic drum set using the Arduino open-source prototyping platform.
In 2008 Don completed dual degrees in Physics (BS) and Economics (BA) at Stanford University. During his sophomore year, Don co-founded the Stanford chapter of CO-SIGN, College Student Interest Group in Neurology, which retains renowned faculty to give public lectures, advises current undergraduates on neuro-related course options, and connects students with internship opportunities. In his senior year, Don created and co-taught a course entitled “Current Topics in Neuroscience” at Stanford.
Don began modeling in 2010, and his career took off immediately. He is signed to Page Parkes Agency in Houston, Texas and The Campbell Agency in Dallas, Texas, where he does fashion, runway and commercial print modeling. He has been featured in Houston Magazine, Life + Dog Magazine, JMG Magazine, and walked in Houston Fashion week in both 2010 and 2011.
Don is committed to serving his community and is a member of Rotary International, volunteers with PM-Pals to provide evening care to special-needs children, and provides assistance to refugees through Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston. He also regularly donates his drumming services at fundraising events benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
