In 1965, he opened his independent research laboratory at the Salk Institute, where his early work on animal viruses led to the discovery of RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, or reverse transcriptase. This discovery changed molecular biology, overturning the prevailing “central dogma” that genetic information is transmitted only from DNA to RNA to protein.1. This was followed by a move to the East Coast of the United States – to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), The Rockefeller University and the Whitehead Institute, where his research continued to redefine virology, immunology and cancer biology through fundamental discoveries related to the RAG genes, V(D)J rearrangement, NF-κB and abl oncogene2. Three decades later, he returned west as the seventh president of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). While at Caltech, he championed collaborations that linked Caltech, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), and City of Hope (COH), creating a Los Angeles biocenter for immune engineering, connecting academic excellence with biotechnological innovation, translating discoveries into therapeutics, and bringing science to patients. Thus his journey west became more than just a return; it was a renewal of his long-held belief that discovery flourishes where curiosity, rigor, and community converge.
His journey west also brought him the greatest partnership of his life. As David began his independent career at the Salk Institute, he met Alice Huang, a brilliant young virologist whose intelligence and warmth soon won his heart. They soon married, beginning a 56-year partnership of science, mutual respect and everlasting love. Together they went from Salk to MIT to Rockefeller to the Whitehead Institute and finally back to Caltech—always side by side. Alice, herself an experienced biologist and scientific leader, was David's closest colleague and faithful companion; together they raised their daughter TK and cherished their granddaughter Tesla.
