David Walt is the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Bioinspired Engineering at Harvard Medical School, professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Core Faculty Member of the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, and codirector of the Mass General Brigham Center for COVID Innovation. Previously, he was University Professor at Tufts University.

Dr. Walt’s laboratory pioneered the development of microwell arrays, which revolutionized the field of genetic analysis, and introduced the idea of digital protein detection by developing a high-throughput technology for performing single molecule analysis. His research is aimed at applying new technologies to address unmet clinical diagnostics needs.

Dr. Walt is the scientific founder of Illumina Inc. and Quanterix Corp., and has cofounded several other life sciences startups including Ultivue, Inc., Arbor Biotechnologies, Sherlock Biosciences, and Vizgen, Inc.

He has received numerous national and international awards and honors for his fundamental and applied work in the field of optical microwell arrays and single molecules. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine; a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and National Academy of Inventors; and an inductee to the US National Inventors Hall of Fame.

He serves on the NASEM Standing Committee for Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21^st Century Health Threats and the NASEM Board on Life Sciences. He was cochair of the NASEM Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology.

He has a BS in chemistry from the University of Michigan and a PhD in chemical biology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.