Professor David Gordon studied at Cambridge and the Westminster Medical School, qualifying in 1970. His early professional training was in Cambridge and in Leicester, after which he worked in research and academic posts at St.Mary's Hospital Medical School from 1972 to 1983. In 1983 he moved to the Wellcome Trust, while maintaining a clinical commitment at St. Mary's Hospital. Professor Gordon's work at the Wellcome Trust involved him in a wide range of activities concerned with the funding of science.
Professor Gordon took up his appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy, and Professor of Medicine at the University of Manchester in 1999.
He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Chair of the Council of Heads of Medical Schools, Vice-President of the Association of Medical Schools in Europe, and a member of a number of national scientific and professional advisory bodies.