David Kaplan
PhD
David shares a lab with his wife, Freda Miller, working on how stem cells build and maintain the brain, and discovering drugs that mobilize our stem cells to enhance and repair the injured brain and skin, and to treat childhood cancers. He is best known for co-discovering, as a graduate student, the signalling protein PI3-kinase (Cell 1987) and discovering the Trk/Nerve Growth Factor receptor when his lab was at the NIH (Nature, Science 1990). David, with Freda, founded the biotechnology companies Exogen Neurosciences, Aegera Therapeutics and Reveille Inc. to bring their research discoveries in cancer, nerve degeneration and stem cell fields to the clinic. David moved to Canada 25 years ago, attracted to the promised land of collaboration, great trainees, and perfect weather. Freda and David are grateful to have had the opportunity to train many amazing trainees, 35 who now are faculty with their own research laboratories in academia and 27 who are research directors or managers in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical/research institute sector.
Courses taught
- “Growth Factor Control of Nervous System Development”, Molecular Genetics Course Topics MMG 1012H
Cross-affiliations
- Senior Scientist, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto
- Member, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto