David H. Gutmann received his undergraduate, graduate (PhD) and medical (MD) degrees from the University of Michigan, where he trained in immunogenetics in the laboratory of Dr. John Niederhuber. During his residency in Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, he worked with Dr. Kenneth Fischbeck who sparked his interest in neurogenetics. He then returned to the University of Michigan for research fellowship training in Human Genetics with Dr. Francis Collins. During that time, he identified the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) protein and began to elucidate its function as a RAS regulator. In late 1993, Dr. Gutmann was recruited to Washington University, becoming a full professor in 2001 and the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor in 2002. He established the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Neurofibromatosis Clinical Program in 1994 and the Washington University Neurofibromatosis Center in 2004. His laboratory is currently focused on understanding the genomic, molecular and cellular basis for nervous system problems affecting children and adults with NF1 using both human induced pluripotent stem cells and novel genetically engineered mouse strains. They have used these preclinical models to define the cellular origins of tumors, the contribution of the tumor microenvironment, and the major growth control pathways that dictate brain development in NF. Moreover, the use of NF1 as an experimental model system has revealed numerous insights into the basic neurobiology of human disease, including tumor-stroma dependencies in the cancer ecosystem, the impact of the germline mutation on phenotypic expression, the role of sexual dimorphism in clinical outcome, and the mechanisms underlying cell type-specific, brain region-distinct, and signaling pathway diversity. Dr. Gutmann has published over 480 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and has been recognized for his achievements with numerous awards, including the 2012 Children’s Tumor Foundation Frederich von Recklinghausen award, an R35 Research Program Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the 2019 Society for Neuro-Oncology Abjihit Guha Award, the 2019 American Academy of Neurology Neuro-Oncology Scientific Award, the 2020 National Neurofibromatosis Network Advocate of Hope Award, the 2020 American Neurological Association George W. Jacoby Award, and Election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has served on numerous NIH and foundation review panels, as well as served as a member on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Advisory Council.