David S. Perlin, PhD

David S. Perlin, PhD, is a highly accomplished biomedical researcher and chief executive who is recognized for his innovative and entrepreneurial leadership in the biomedical sciences. He is the inaugural chief scientific officer and senior vice president of the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation, which seeks to rapidly translate innovations in science to improve outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune and other acute and chronic disorders.  

Dr. Perlin has been engaged for more than 30 years in developing molecular insights and technologies to detect, combat and prevent deadly infections. His laboratory is supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, pharma and biopharma sectors. He currently leads an NIH-designated national Center of Excellence in Translational Research to discover novel anti-infectives against drug resistant bacterial and viral infections.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, his group established one of the first FDA EUA-approved COVID-19 molecular tests for a healthcare system; they jointly developed a highly successful high-titer convalescent plasma therapy program for hospitalized COVID-19 patients; they engaged in drug discovery against SARS-CoV-2 with pharma and biotech partners, and they developed high-throughput technology for the assessment of virus variants of concern. Dr. Perlin has served on advisory boards for the NIH, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and numerous pharma, biotech and diagnostic companies. 

Dr. Perlin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the New York Academy of Sciences. Under Dr. Perlin’s leadership, the CDI was honored with a “Medical Technology Pioneer Health Care Heroes” award for their COVID-19 response.