David Weber, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Director, Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Co-Director, University of Maryland Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research
David Weber is an internationally renowned biochemist and structural biologist who has been with the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) since 1993.
He also holds a joint appointment as a professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP).
Dr. Weber’s achievements as a scientist, educator, and leader have dramatically enriched the research environments of UMSOM, the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics (CBT), and the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center.
As director of CBT, Weber manages state-of-the-art scientific studies that investigate mechanisms involved in disease states and develops drugs to treat them. This includes leading the way to investigate structure and dynamic properties of biomolecules at atomic resolution, which included being principal investigator for a $7.9 million grant to acquire a superconducting, 950-megahertz nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. He is generous with his expertise and has helped researchers at UMSOM and beyond to better understand such biomolecules, their mechanism of action, and used this information to develop new agents to treat human diseases including for infectious diseases and cancer.
Weber also is co-director of the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, a unique collaboration among the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB); UMCP; and the National Institute of Standards and Technology that breaks down traditional silos between academia, government, and industry to advance pioneering research and development in medicine, biosciences, technology, quantitative sciences, and engineering.
At UMSOM, Weber served as director of graduate education for the joint program in biochemistry and molecular biology from 2001 to 2011. He is an editorial board member for numerous journals and has authored more than 150 research articles and book chapters involving basic science and biomedical therapeutics advances.
Among his many accolades, he was named an MPower Professor in 2022 by the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State. The professorship recognizes, enables, and supports strong collaborations between faculty in the UMB-UMCP joint research enterprise.
Weber earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Muhlenberg College and his PhD in chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
