Dr. David J. Waters

Dr. Waters received his BS (1980) and DVM (1984) degrees from Cornell University and his PhD degree from the University of Minnesota (1992).  He is currently Professor of Comparative Oncology in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Associate Director of the Center on Aging and The Life Course at Purdue University.  Since 2000, Dr. Waters has served as Executive Director of the Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation, a not-for-profit organization located in the Purdue Research Park that is committed to defeating cancer and other age-related diseases through basic, comparative, and clinical research.  He is nationally recognized for his work on utilizing pet dogs as models of human aging, and is an expert on the comparative aspects of prostate cancer in men and dogs, the only two species susceptible to naturally-occurring prostate cancer.  As a teacher, Dr. Waters has contributed significantly to Purdue’s Dual Title PhD Program in Gerontology, serving as professor of record of several graduate courses including “The Biology of Aging”.  In 1999, he was the recipient of a prestigious Brookdale National Fellowship in recognition of his potential as a leader in the field of gerontology; he is the only veterinarian to receive this award.  His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program, American Cancer Society, and industrial sources.  Dr. Waters’ research findings have been published in a variety of high impact scientific journals, including Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Journal of Gerontology, Carcinogenesis, Prostate, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, and Cancer.  In collaboration with Purdue’s Center on Aging, The Murphy Foundation’s Center for Exceptional Longevity Studies has established the first database tracking exceptionally long-lived pet dogs to study the genetic and non-genetic factors that regulate exceptional longevity.   Dr. Waters was selected by the National Academy of Sciences – Keck Foundation as one of 100 scientists who participated in a November 2007 think-tank on cutting-edge research to extend healthy human lifespan.  His recent publication on comparative oncology published in Scientific American demonstrates his ability to communicate complex basic science information in a reader-friendly manner.

The Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation