Professor of Pathology
David Klimstra, MD, is an internationally recognized leader in cancer pathology. He is former Chair of Pathology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and, more recently, Chief Medical Officer at Paige AI. Dr. Klimstra, whose career spans more than three decades, received his MD from Yale University, where he also trained as a Resident in Anatomic Pathology. He was a fellow in oncologic surgical pathology at MSK, and his research focuses on the pathologic characterization of tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and pancreas. He is particularly interested in precursors to pancreatic cancer and neoplasms of the neuroendocrine system.
At MSK, Dr. Klimstra served as Chair of Pathology and was the James Ewing Alumni Chair in Pathology from 2012 to 2021. He oversaw many technological advances in pathology, including the development of novel next-generation sequencing assays, multiplexed immunomorphology platforms, tissue-based mass spectrometry and digital and computational pathology. He co-founded Paige AI to bring advances in computational pathology to clinical practice and served as Chief Medical Officer for Paige from August 2021 to June 2024, leading the clinical implementation and evidence generation for Paige’s technology.
Dr. Klimstra has more than 450 peer-reviewed publications related to his research on the pathology of pancreatic, hepatic, neuroendocrine, and gastrointestinal tumors. He served as an editor of the World Health Organization’s standard classification series for tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and endocrine organs, and he has authored several books and numerous book chapters. He has mentored dozens of pathology fellows and junior faculty members. He is known internationally for his diagnostic expertise and has lectured extensively in the U.S. and abroad.