David is a third-year Vanderbilt MSTP trainee and a first-year graduate student in the chemical and physical biology program. He was born and raised in Houston, TX, where he attended Rice University and obtained a B.S. in Chemistry. There, he spent two years in Dr. Julian West’s group studying alkene functionalization methods enabled by iron LMCT catalysis. He is also co-mentored by Dr. Brian Bachmann. Outside of the lab, he enjoys long-distance running, watching movies, Netflix and anime, and playing piano.