David Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D.

David Kaufman joined Third Rock Ventures as a venture partner in 2020 and was promoted to partner in 2022. He was previously chief medical officer and head of translational development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (MRI). He helped establish the Gates MRI as a “nonprofit biotech,” developing novel drugs and vaccines for tuberculosis, malaria, enteric diseases, neonatal health, and other global health challenges. Previously, he led translational oncology at Merck Research Laboratories, where he oversaw immuno-oncology translational medicine, novel biomarker development, and global translational research partnering. He joined Merck through the Merck Drug Development and Leadership Program, where he worked across vaccines, infectious diseases, and clinical oncology. Prior to joining Merck, he was a physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is a director of Hookipa Pharma and a director ex officio of the Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer.