IAVI mourns the passing of David Baltimore

IAVI was saddened to learn that David Baltimore, Ph.D., died on September 6, 2025, in Massachusetts. 

Baltimore won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1975 for upending a central principle of molecular biology that led to critical insights about HIV. His wide-ranging research across virology, molecular biology, and immunology led to transformational advances in biology and medicine. He advocated for investments into HIV/AIDS research in the early days of the pandemic and worked tirelessly to focus researchers’ attention on the newly emerged virus.

IAVI CEO and president Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., was a postdoctoral researcher in Baltimore’s lab in the late 1980s. He shared his perspective on this great scientist and humanitarian.

“David Baltimore was the most brilliant, creative, insightful, and rigorous scientist I have ever met. He was truly one of a kind, and at an especially challenging time for the broader scientific enterprise, David’s insights and commitment will be missed. 

While David’s remarkable and diverse scientific accomplishments are widely known, his special commitment to mentorship and to fostering the careers of generations of scientists may be less well appreciated. Furthermore, David’s focus on maximizing the ability of scientific progress to benefit society and to ameliorate the suffering of individuals facing serious diseases was both inspirational and catalytic.

I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him and learn from him. I first met David when he served as the co-Chair of the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on a National Strategy for AIDS in the mid-1980s when the U.S. government’s response to this newly emerging pandemic was woefully inadequate. In this period, David not only served as a powerful advocate for investment in AIDS research, but he also did something that many other leading basic scientists at the time were reluctant to do. Specifically, David made sure to include fundamental research on HIV as one of the areas his own laboratory would pursue — a decision that generated incredibly valuable scientific insights and also provided a powerful example of how important it is for leading scientists to devote their scientific skills to address societal challenges. 

David will be missed by many, but through his remarkable example, contributions, and mentorship, his presence will be felt for many years to come.”

We at IAVI extend our condolences to David Baltimore’s family and community.