David Leaver, Ph.D.

David obtained his BSc (First Class Honours) from La Trobe University (LTU) and he received the David Kelly Medal for being the best Honours student (supervisors: Andrew Hughes, Guillaume Lessene, Jonathan Baell) within the School of Molecular Sciences. David then completed his PhD in Organic Chemistry at LTU under the supervision of Andrew Hughes and Tash Polyzos, after which he completed a postdoctoral research position in medicinal chemistry under the supervision of Jonathan Baell at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. David also completed a postdoctoral research position in chemical biology under the supervision of W. David Nes at Texas Tech University. David has worked at Sul Ross State University, Charles Sturt University and he joined Lubbock Christian University in 2026.

David’s 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. David enjoys tackling difficult aspects of early-stage drug discovery with vibrant and rigorous research projects.

David has two co-authored publications in Nature and he played a key role in proving that KAT6A was a druggable target. David worked with Cancer Therapeutics CRC (CTX) and CTxONE (now OncologyOne) licensed KAT6A technology to Pfizer in 2018 and this deal is worth up to US$475M. Prifetrastat (KAT6A inhibitor) entered Phase 1 clinical trials in 2020 for the potential treatment of patients with cancer and in 2025 Prifetrastat entered Phase 3 clinical trials (NCT07062965). 

View my research: Google Scholar Profile

Outside of work, David enjoys spending time with family, going to church, hiking, long distance running and mountain biking.