David J. Leaver earned his BSc (Hons) and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from La Trobe University in 2008 and 2012, respectively. David completed his Honours research project in the medicinal chemistry laboratories at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and he was awarded the David Kelly Medal for being the best Honours student within the School of Molecular Sciences. David worked briefly in the chemical industry at Advanced Molecular Technologies before becoming a postdoctoral research fellow in medicinal chemistry (2012–2013) under the supervision of Professor Jonathan Baell at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He then moved to the United States of America as a postdoctoral research fellow in chemical biology (2013–2014) under the supervision of Professor W. David Nes at Texas Tech University. David previously worked at Sul Ross State University (2014-2021) and he joined Charles Sturt University in 2021 as a Lecturer in Biochemistry. David is a member of the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Australian Institute of Medical and Clinical Scientists, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, the International Chemical Biology Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Chemical Society. His research focuses on the development of novel therapeutics that target specific proteins with the goal of improving the quality of life for people that suffer from life threatening diseases.