Hanlin is a Research Fellow at the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR). Prior to joining UNSW, Hanlin was a postdoctoral research fellow for a collaborative project between the University of Sydney and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. His research focuses on behavioural economics, behavioural financial economics, and applied econometrics. Moreover, Hanlin's research involves designing and conducting field experiments, laboratory experiments, and online experiments.

Hanlin obtained his PhD from the University of Technology Sydney in 2022. His PhD research focused on using information interventions to improve people's performance. Hanlin also holds a Master's degree in Applied Econometrics from Monash University and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Heilongjiang University.