Biography
Dr. Drew Weissman is a world-renowned physician and researcher at Penn Medicine, where he serves as a Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Weissman joined Penn in 1997 following a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he studied HIV under the guidance of Dr. Anthony Fauci. His pioneering research in RNA biology, particularly in collaboration with Dr. Katalin Karikó, led to the invention of the modified mRNA technology used in Pfizer-BioNTech and Modernas COVID-19 vaccines. This groundbreaking work, which involved modifying mRNA and developing a lipid nanoparticle delivery method, made mRNA vaccines safe and effective, a breakthrough that was crucial in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. For these contributions, Dr. Weissman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2023. Currently, Dr. Weissman's team is developing a pan-coronavirus vaccine to prevent future epidemics, a universal influenza vaccine, and a vaccine to prevent herpes. They are also working on cancer therapeutics using mRNA technology. Dr. Weissman received his bachelors and masters degrees from Brandeis University and earned his MD and PhD from Boston University. He completed his residency at Beth Israel Hospital. His contributions have not only transformed the field of infectious diseases but have also opened new avenues for treating various conditions, including cancer, marking significant advancements in the medical field.