David Van Essen is the alumni endowed professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis. He trained at the California Institute of Technology and Harvard University, and his research career has focused on the cerebral cortex of humans and nonhuman primates.

He has served in many leadership positions, including chair of the Anatomy and Neurobiology Department at Washington University in St. Louis and president of the Society for Neuroscience. He has received many awards for excellence in teaching and research and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.