David Johnston

David Johnston, Ph.D., serves as the Senior Vice President and President of PPD Clinical Research at Thermo Fisher Scientific since December 2021. Johnston has held various leadership roles at PPD since June 2013, including President and Executive Vice President of Global Clinical Development. In addition, Johnston advises and serves on the boards of Inceptor Bio and Locus Biosciences, Inc., and was a board member of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations from 2018 to 2023. Prior experience includes Senior Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Trials at LabCorp Clinical Trials and multiple executive roles within Labcorp from 1997 to 2009. Johnston obtained a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.