David E Clapham

David Clapham, MD, PhD, is an emeritus Professor of Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School and the former Aldo R. Castañeda Professor of Cardiovascular Research at Boston Children’s Hospital. He was an HHMI Investigator from 1997-2016, when he became the CSO of HHMI (2016-2022), and a senior group leader at Janelia, retiring 11/2025. Early in his career, he received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering followed by MD and PhD degrees. He was an internal medical resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and carried out postdoctoral research under a Fulbright Award with Erwin Neher at the MPI, Göttingen.

Dr. Clapham’s most recent research focused on ion channel structure, function, and regulation, with specific emphasis on calcium signaling pathways (TRP channels), G protein-coupled receptors and organellar channels of mitochondria, primary cilia, and lysosomes. He trained 56 predoctoral students and 103 postdoctoral fellows, most of whom have established independent research programs at universities. He served as President of the Society of General Physiologists, chaired NIH study section, and served on editorial boards of Cell, Neuron, Science, and PNAS. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2000), National Academy of Sciences (2006), and National Academy of Medicine (2021).

Dr. Clapham was a founder of Hydra Biosciences and is a founder of two new startups. He has advised several large pharmaceutical companies. and continues to advise biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies on scientific topics such as ion channels, receptor signaling, and their involvement in disease.