She received her PhD in comparative human development from the University of Chicago. Dahl’s book manuscript on humanitarian interventions targeting orphaned children—tentatively entitled Great Expectations: Aid, AIDS, and the Invention of Orphans in Botswana—received the 2012 Social Science Research Council Book Development Award. Dahl’s recent research includes work on changing forms of social stigma experienced by children living with HIV and a new project on sexuality that delves into the cultural politics of campaigns to circumcise men as a prophylactic measure against the spread of HIV.