Derrick Rossi

Derrick Rossi was a stem cell biologist at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute when he discovered that modified mRNA could reprogram adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells without the genetic modification risks of viral vectors. This 2010 breakthrough, published in Cell Stem Cell, formed the scientific foundation of Moderna. Rossi had previously trained at Stanford University and the University of Helsinki, and his work built on the foundational mRNA research of Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman at the University of Pennsylvania. Rossi's decision to pursue commercialization of mRNA technology rather than pure academic research was driven by the realization that the technology could address a vast range of diseases beyond stem cell reprogramming.

Rossi's discovery gave Moderna its name, from 'modified RNA'. He served on the company's early scientific advisory board but did not run it; Stéphane Bancel was recruited as CEO in 2011. Rossi returned to academic work at Harvard and Boston Children's Hospital and later co-founded Intellia Therapeutics.