David W. Christianson

David W. Christianson is an American biochemist and structural biologist. He has served on the faculty of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Pennsylvania since 1988, where he is currently the Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Chemistry and Chemical Biology. His research focuses on enzyme structure, mechanism, and inhibition, and he has published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Along with Professor Karen Allen at Boston University, he is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the well-known serial Methods in Enzymology.

David W. Christianson
Born	June 9, 1961 Attleboro, Massachusetts
Alma mater	A.B. in Chemistry, Harvard College (1983) A.M. in Chemistry, Harvard University (1985) Ph.D. in Chemistry, Harvard University (1987)
Known for	Structural and mechanistic studies of enzymes
Awards	Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry (1999) Guggenheim Fellowship (2006) Repligen Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes (2013) American Chemical Society Philadelphia Section Award (2021)
Scientific career
Institutions	University of Pennsylvania (1988-Present) Cambridge University, Department of Biochemistry (Underwood Fellow, 2006-2007); Sidney Sussex College (Visiting Fellow, 2006) Harvard Radcliffe Institute (Cashin Fellow in the Natural Sciences, 2015-2016) Harvard University (Visiting Professor, 2016)

Early life

Christianson was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and grew up in the neighboring town of North Attleboro. His parents, Ronald and Florence ("Goldie") Christianson, were graduates of the New England Conservatory of Music and taught in the North Attleboro public schools.^[1] Christianson developed his interest in chemistry as an elementary school student and his teachers encouraged this interest through his high school years.^[2] Christianson's high school research project involved the quantitation of methane output from decomposing sewage acquired from the town sewage treatment plant; Christianson received state-wide recognition for this work during the 1979 oil crisis ("N. Attleboro Senior is Energy Saver", by Phyllis Coons. The Boston Globe, 10 April 1979, p. 32). Christianson graduated from North Attleboro High School in 1979. A musician by avocation, Christianson served as Organist and Choirmaster at the First Baptist Church of North Attleboro (1978-1980), and then at the First Congregational Church of Melrose, Massachusetts (1980-1988).

Education and Research

Christianson earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard College in 1983, and remained at Harvard University to complete his master's and doctoral studies in 1985 and 1987, respectively.^[3] He was a doctoral student in the research group of William N. Lipscomb. Christianson joined the University of Pennsylvania faculty in 1988,^[4] and is currently the Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Chemistry and Chemical Biology.^[5] Christianson's research focuses on enzyme structure, mechanism, and inhibition. Key systems studied over the years include the carbonic anhydrases, arginases, histone deacetylases, and terpene synthases. His research accomplishments have been recognized by the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry (1999) ^[6] and the Repligen Corporation Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes (2013)^[7] from the Biological Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society, and the American Chemical Society Philadelphia Section Award (2021).^[8] Christianson was also awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2006.^[9] Earlier in his career at Penn, Christianson received the Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research (1989), a Searle Scholar Award (1989),^[10] an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (1992),^[11] and a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1993).^[10] Christianson is a member of the American Chemical Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

In 2009, Christianson was presented with the Joseph W. Martin, Jr. Distinguished Alumni Award from the North Attleboro High School Alumni Association,^[2] an honor that was also recognized by a citation from the Massachusetts Senate.

Christianson has also been recognized by numerous lectureships in the US and abroad, including the John Wriston Lecture at the University of Delaware (2015), the Pennsylvania Drug Discovery Institute Award Lecture (2018),^[12] the Luojia Lecture at Wuhan University (2018), the Chemistry & Biochemistry Distinguished Lecture at the University of California, Los Angeles (2023),^[13] the Drug Research Academy Lecture at the University of Copenhagen (2024),^[14] and the Warwick Structural Biology Lecture at the University of Warwick (2025).

To date, Christianson has published more than 300 papers (H-index = 98) and has deposited 571 protein structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB).^[15] Protein structures determined in his research group have been featured five times as the "PDB Molecule of the Month".^{[16][17][18][19][20]}

Entrepreneurial Activities

Christianson co-founded the biopharmaceutical company Arginetix,^[21][22] then Corridor Pharmaceuticals,^[23] acquired by AstraZeneca in 2014.^[24] Christianson has also served as a consultant to various pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Alcon, GSK plc, Achaogen, Accent Therapeutics, and Manus Bio.

Teaching Accomplishments

Christianson has been recognized for his teaching accomplishments with the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching (2017)^[25] and the Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching (2025)^[26] from the University of Pennsylvania, and the Inspirational Educator Award from the Rhodes Trust, Oxford University (2019).

Academic Leadership

Christianson was Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Penn 2018–2023. His approach to academic leadership and research culture was highlighted in Chemistry World, the official newsmagazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.^[27]

Human Rights Activism

Christianson has explored ethical issues in biomedical research and has criticized the use of intellectually disabled children as clinical test subjects.^[28][29] Christianson has also protested the connection between the American Chemical Society and the federal death penalty, arguing that the constitution of the Society "is a moral compass, pointing toward a world in which our society and our chemistry must focus on how to improve human life, not how to end it."^[30]

Visiting Appointments

Christianson was the Underwood Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry and a Visiting Fellow at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University (Michaelmas Term, 2006),^[31] the Elizabeth S. and Richard M. Cashin Fellow at the Harvard-Radcliffe Institute (2015-2016),^[32] and Visiting Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University in 2016. He was also a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, hosted by the University of Tokyo (2025).