David Rooklin is an American scientist and biotech founder. He is also the husband of comedian and actor Ilana Glazer. Rooklin studied biochemistry at Oberlin College. He later earned a PhD at New York University. His work uses computer tools to help scientists study proteins and search for new drugs. He also co-founded Redesign Science, a New York biotech company.
Rooklin has his own career outside his wife’s fame. He spent years doing research at NYU. He helped create a tool called AlphaSpace. He also helped turn science work into a growing company. At home, he and Glazer keep much of their family life private. They married in 2017 and welcomed a daughter in 2021.
From College Science to NYU
David Rooklin studied biochemistry at Oberlin College in Ohio. That field looks at the chemistry of living things.
He then went to New York University for graduate study. He earned his PhD in 2012. His work focused on using computer methods to study biology.
That kind of work can help with drug research. A scientist may know that a protein plays a role in disease. The hard part is finding a drug that can act on it.
Computer models can help narrow the search. They let researchers study shape, motion, and contact points at a tiny scale. The best ideas can then move on to lab tests.
Rooklin stayed at NYU after his PhD. He worked on drug design and software. His research also brought together chemistry, physics, and biology.
That mix later became the base for his company.
The AlphaSpace Research
One of Rooklin’s main research projects was AlphaSpace.
In 2015, he was the lead author of a paper on the tool. The study appeared in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling. It was also indexed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
AlphaSpace looks at places where proteins touch each other. Some of these areas are hard for normal drugs to reach. They can be large, flat, and hard to map.
The tool breaks those surfaces into smaller spots. That can help a scientist see where a small drug-like molecule may fit.
The idea is complex, but the goal is easy to grasp. It helps researchers study hard drug targets in a more useful way.
Rooklin later worked on more papers about protein surfaces and drug design. His science career was already well formed before he became known to comedy fans.
How Redesign Science Began
Rooklin helped move his research from the lab into business.
Redesign Science took part in the NYU Stern Entrepreneurs Challenge. In 2016, the team won the $75,000 Technology Venture Prize. NYU named Rooklin, Ashley Modell, and Joseph Katigbak as founders from its chemistry department.
The company grew from work on computer-based drug design.
David Rooklin later became a co-founder and president of Redesign Science. The company was launched in 2017.
Its work still follows the same broad idea. It uses computer models to study how molecules move and interact. It also uses AI to help create possible new drug compounds.
Redesign Science calls its main platform NUVO. The company says it blends physics, chemistry, and computer-made data.
The goal is not to replace lab science. It is to help teams find better ideas to test.
What David Rooklin Does Today
Rooklin works at the point where science meets biotech.
His company is trying to find small molecules that can affect key protein links in the body. Some of those links may play a role in cancer and other disease.
That work can sound very technical. In simple terms, the team builds digital models of very small parts of biology. It then uses those models to search for useful drug ideas.
A computer result is only an early step. A possible drug still needs lab work and many later tests.
Rooklin’s role also goes beyond research. As a company founder, he is involved in turning science into a real product and drug program.
That path is common in modern biotech. A good idea may start in a university lab. It then needs money, staff, software, and years of testing to become a company.
How David Rooklin Met Ilana Glazer
Rooklin met Ilana Glazer in New York City in 2012.
They met in Washington Square Park. At the time, Glazer was still building the comedy career that would make Broad City a hit.
Their jobs were very different. Glazer worked in comedy and acting. Rooklin worked in science.
That difference became a light joke in later interviews. Glazer once joked that her husband was in science and did not know comedy.
The couple dated for about five years.
Their relationship grew while both were busy with demanding careers. Glazer became more famous through Broad City. Rooklin kept working in research and later moved toward biotech.
Their Private Wedding in 2017
David Rooklin and Glazer married in February 2017.
The wedding was small and private. News of it came out after a friend shared a photo. Glazer later said the day was casual and relaxed.
They had already been together for years. The marriage did not mark a sudden change in how they handled public life.
Glazer is open in her comedy, but the couple keeps many home details to themselves. Rooklin also does not use the marriage to build a celebrity brand.
They later traveled to Iceland for their honeymoon.
The private style of the wedding set a pattern. Fans see them together at times, but their marriage is not a constant part of Glazer’s public work.
Becoming Parents
Glazer and Rooklin became parents in 2021.
Glazer shared news of the pregnancy in March. Their daughter was born in July.
The couple has kept their child mostly out of public view. Her name and face are not a regular part of their public posts or interviews.
Glazer has talked about how motherhood changed her life and work. Those ideas later helped shape her 2024 film Babes.
Rooklin is often mentioned as her husband and co-parent in those talks. He stays much less visible than Glazer.
The pair seems to keep a clear line between public work and home life.
Family Life Around Two Busy Careers
The couple has to fit family life around two very different jobs.
Glazer travels for shows, film work, and stand-up. Rooklin works in biotech, where research and company work can also take long hours.
A 2024 Washington Post profile gave a small look at that balance. During a comedy tour, Glazer stepped away to FaceTime with Rooklin.
It was a simple family moment. It also matched what Glazer has said about putting family closer to the center of work plans.
Their daughter added another layer to that choice.
Rooklin still appears only now and then in entertainment coverage. His main public work remains tied to science.
His Age and Personal Background
David Rooklin’s exact birth date is not known publicly.
His known career path runs from college science to NYU research and then Redesign Science. He has shared little about his early family life.
Rooklin became a person of wider interest through Glazer, but his public identity is still built mainly around work and family.
More Than a Celebrity Spouse
David Rooklin is often introduced as Ilana Glazer’s husband. That link explains why many comedy fans know his name. It does not tell the whole story.
He trained as a scientist. He earned a PhD from NYU. He worked on AlphaSpace and other drug research. He then helped build Redesign Science.
His company now uses physics, computer models, and AI in the search for new drugs.
At the same time, Rooklin and Glazer have kept their home life fairly quiet. They met in New York, married in 2017, and became parents in 2021.
The two careers sit in very different worlds. One is built around comedy and film. The other is built around science and biotech.
That contrast is part of what makes Rooklin interesting. He is linked to a well-known star, but his own work has followed a clear path for years.
