David R. Gross graduated from Colorado State University's veterinary school in 1960 and was in private practice for ten years. He enrolled in graduate school and earned a M.Sc. degree in 1972 and a PhD degree in 1974 from Ohio State University. He taught and did research at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine for sixteen years, then became director of the cardiovascular and thoracic surgery research labs at the University of Kentucky's College of Medicine for five years. He retired in 2006 after twelve years as professor and head of veterinary biosciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.