David Carr is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and did graduate work at the University of California, San Diego, in biochemistry and molecular biology. He began working in the field of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) in 1971 at Varian Associates, a pioneer in this field. In this role he developed many early applications of this technique and was involved in the development of the first variable wavelength HPLC detector and an early fluorescence detector. For many years he was the technical director at Vydac, a developer and manufacturer of columns for the analysis and characterization of proteins and peptides. In this position he frequently worked with pioneer biotechnology companies such as Amgen and Immunex to develop both analytical procedures and purification protocols for protein therapeutic products. He is the author of a popular booklet published by Vydac, entitled The Handbook of Analysis and Purification of Proteins and Peptides by Reversed-phase HPLC. After leaving Vydac, David has been involved in teaching both in the fields of HPLC and protein therapeutic analysis.

He currently teaches a course entitled The Analysis and Characterization of Protein Therapeutic Drugs. He has expanded the use of his knowledge of proteins and analytical procedures to the teaching of a course in protein chemistry and a course in the new field of proteomics. He has also, for many years, taught classes in basic principles and practice of HPLC as well as reversed-phase HPLC method development.