Chapel Hill, NC — August 26, 2026 — The Department of M
Chapel Hill, NC — August 26, 2026 — The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine is pleased to announce that David M. Johnston, PhD, retired President of PPD and former Senior Vice President and President of Clinical Research at Thermo Fisher Scientific, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology Distinguished Alumni Award.
The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes graduates whose careers exemplify excellence, leadership, innovation, and impact and demonstrate the many ways that training in microbiology and immunology can contribute to science, medicine, and society.
Dr. Johnston earned his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the UNC School of Medicine in 1998. His doctoral research examined the molecular genetics and pathogenesis of Neisseria, including characterization and mutagenesis of the opa gene family. What followed was a 25-year career that took him from laboratory research through infectious disease, molecular diagnostics, personalized medicine, laboratory medicine, and clinical development, ultimately to leadership of one of the world’s largest clinical research organizations.
Dr. Johnston spent 15 years at LabCorp, beginning in research and development and progressing through increasingly senior scientific and clinical research leadership positions. As Assistant Director of Research and Development, his work included development and commercialization of assays addressing unmet clinical needs, including HIV genotyping and HCV strain typing. He subsequently established LabCorp’s Companion Diagnostics organization, helping create a new model for pharmaceutical-diagnostic co-development and an industry-first reference-laboratory pathway for an FDA-approved predictive test used in conjunction with a therapeutic. He later served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of LabCorp’s Clinical Trials business.
In 2013, Dr. Johnston joined PPD, where his responsibilities grew from leadership of the company’s global laboratory businesses to oversight of its Global Clinical Development organization. He established and expanded Vaccine Sciences and biomarker capabilities and ultimately directed global Phase I-IV clinical development across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. By 2021, the organization under his leadership encompassed approximately 20,000 colleagues and $4.5 billion in annual revenue.
His scientific training and leadership were particularly consequential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Johnston led PPD’s global clinical-development response, retaining and redeploying clinical research capacity to urgent therapeutic and vaccine programs. The organization supported complex adaptive platform studies, Operation Warp Speed activities, and several large-scale vaccine trials, including Moderna’s pivotal 30,000-participant COVE vaccine-efficacy trial.
In 2021, Dr. Johnston became President of PPD. Following Thermo Fisher Scientific’s $17.4 billion acquisition of the company, he led a global clinical research organization with approximately $8 billion in revenue and more than 36,000 colleagues while overseeing PPD’s integration into Thermo Fisher. He also served as a corporate Senior Vice President and member of Thermo Fisher’s senior leadership team, contributing to corporate strategy, capital allocation, budgeting, and operational execution.
Since retiring from full-time corporate leadership in 2023, Dr. Johnston has remained engaged in healthcare, biotechnology, and clinical research. He currently serves as an Executive Advisor to Water Street Healthcare Partners and holds board and scientific advisory roles with clinical research and biotechnology companies. His service beyond industry has included working with Partners In Health to help plan a clinical reference laboratory in Haiti and supporting efforts to facilitate HIV treatment and clinical research in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr. Johnston has also maintained connections to education in North Carolina, including service as a lecturer in healthcare consulting at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and in clinical research at Campbell University.
“David Johnston’s career illustrates the extraordinary reach of an education in microbiology and immunology,” said Craig E. Cameron, PhD, Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. “David began his career as a scientist studying microbial pathogenesis and ultimately applied that scientific foundation at progressively greater scales—from laboratory research and diagnostics to global clinical development and organizational leadership. His career demonstrates to our students that there are many ways to use their scientific training to improve human health. I cannot imagine a more fitting individual to receive our inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award.”
Dr. Johnston will return to UNC for two days of activities with students, faculty, and members of the M&I community. He will participate in a career discussion and question-and-answer session with trainees following the Department’s student seminar on Monday, September 14, 2026. On Tuesday, September 15, 2026, the Distinguished Alumni Award will be formally conferred before Dr. Johnston delivers the Department of Microbiology and Immunology seminar.
About the Award
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes graduates whose careers have demonstrated exceptional achievement, leadership, innovation, and impact in academia, industry, government, public service, or other sectors. The award celebrates alumni whose accomplishments bring distinction to the Department and demonstrate the breadth of contributions that can emerge from training in microbiology and immunology.
The award is conferred annually by the Department Chair in collaboration with the M&I Leadership Team and is presented at the first departmental seminar following Labor Day.
About the Department of Microbiology and Immunology
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine is committed to advancing fundamental discovery and translating knowledge into improved human health.