David Younger

David Younger

Co-Founder and CEO at A-Alpha Bio
Seattle, Washington, United States

David Younger is the Co-Founder and CEO at A-Alpha Bio, a biotechnology startup. He has expertise in synthetic biology and protein engineering.

Trump-Era Funding Cuts and Hiring Freeze Stall UW Protein Design Startups Led by Nobel Laureate David Baker

The University of Washington's Institute for Protein Design, led by Nobel laureate David Baker, faces a hiring freeze and funding cuts under the Trump administration, stalling its promising protein design startups and reducing opportunities for graduate students and postdocs. Despite Nobel-driven interest and advances in AI-designed proteins, budget constraints threaten future innovation and company spinoffs.

Seattle Biotech Startup A-Alpha Bio Raises $22.4M to Advance AI Platform for Protein Interaction Analysis

Seattle biotech startup A-Alpha Bio raised $22.4 million to advance its AI-driven platform that measures protein interactions, partnering with major drug companies like Bristol Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences to accelerate therapeutic development. Its platform combines computational tools and yeast experiments to analyze nearly 500 million protein-protein interaction measurements for drug discovery.

Five Finalists for 2022 GeekWire Health Innovation of the Year Include A-Alpha Bio and UW Institute for Protein Design

The 2022 GeekWire Health Innovation of the Year finalists include A-Alpha Bio, Parse Biosciences, Tasso, Truveta, and the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design, highlighting advances in computational health approaches. Winners will be announced on May 12 at the GeekWire Awards, with community voting open until April 22.

A-Alpha Bio raises $20M Series A led by Madrona to expand Seattle lab and scale protein-discovery platform

University of Washington spinout A-Alpha Bio raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Madrona Venture Group to expand downtown Seattle lab space and grow its machine-learning team for its protein-discovery platform. The company combines computational tools and yeast-based experiments to generate large protein-interaction datasets used to predict therapeutic protein candidates for diseases including COVID-19.

Organizations

See all 4
  • A-Alpha Bio logo
    A-Alpha Bio Executive Officer, Director 2019–present, Co-Founder and CEO 2017–present · current
  • University of Washington logo
    University of Washington Postdoctoral Researcher 2017–2018, Bioengineering Graduate Student 2012–2017 · past
  • Luminex Corporation Engineering Intern 2011 · past

Education

  • University of Washington Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Bioengineering · 2012–2017
  • Rice University Bachelor of Science; Bachelor of Arts, Bioengineering, Economics · 2007–2012
  • The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Economics · 2009–2010

Online