Benaron joined the faculty of the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University in 1989. During his 13 years as a professor, he contributed to key accomplishments and events in neonatology, including the development of novel imaging techniques – such as the first optical imaging of infection in vivo ‒ with colleagues Chris Contag, Susan R. Hintz and David K. Stevenson,[4] as well as founding the Stanford biophotonics lab. He left Stanford in 2002, but continued his association with the university as a consulting professor until 2016.
Entrepreneur
Benaron founded his first company when he was 13, and received his first venture capital while in medical school for a device to improve medication compliance.[5] However, it was his work in medical imaging and analysis at Stanford that led him to establish five biotechnology companies specialized in optical sensing and optical imaging.[6] Among his innovations are the green light heart rate sensor now found in wearable health bands;[7] the use of glowing genes to image and track cancer and infection in the body (luciferase imaging),[1][8] and the use of white light spectroscopy for analysis and imaging inside the body,[9] for example for measuring oxygen saturation in tissues.[10]
In 2002 he received the Tibbetts award from the United States Congress for commercialization of scientific innovations[11] and was inducted into the Stanford Inventors Hall of Fame in 2012 for his "glowing mice" – a technique that uses bioluminescent bacteria for real-time pathogen imaging.[2][12]
Digital health
Benaron was a strategic advisor for California-based mobile technology company cellNumerate from 2012-2015. He became Chief Medical Officer at Jawbone, focusing on the development of wearables for monitoring health metrics, after the acquisition of his company Spectros in 2015.[13][14] He joined Jawbone Health as Chief Medical Officer (one of its two C-level officers) in 2017.[15][16][17]
At a panel on precision medicine at the 2016 BIO International Convention in San Francisco, Benaron spoke about a future where the need for regular health check-ups could be replaced by wearable health monitoring, and where big data and precision medicine could help to prevent chronic disease through early detection.[13] More recently, he has been working to extract deep intent from analysis or the digital exhaust we leave behind during our daily activities, to understand mood, motivation, and mindset.[18]
Personal life
David Benaron was born in Los Angeles, California to Canadian parents. His grandparents were Russian and Polish immigrants. He has two children.[19]
Benaron is a furry. He owns 46 custom fursuits and regularly attends work in one.[20]