Founder Profile
Kenneth Chien
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Kenneth Chien?
Kenneth Chien is a founder of Moderna, Inc., which was founded in 2010 with Derrick Rossi, Robert Langer and Noubar Afeyan.
- Company founded
- Moderna, Inc.
- Founded
- 2010
- Co-founders
- Derrick Rossi, Robert Langer and Noubar Afeyan
Background
Kenneth Chien is a cardiovascular scientist and professor at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital who was recruited by Derrick Rossi to join the founding team based on his expertise in cardiovascular biology and drug development. Chien's research focused on cardiac stem cells and regenerative medicine, and he recognized that mRNA could be used to produce therapeutic proteins for cardiovascular diseases including heart failure and ischemic heart disease. Chien's involvement provided scientific credibility in the cardiovascular therapeutic area which was one of Moderna's initial focus areas. His decision to join the founding team reflected his belief that mRNA technology could address the fundamental challenge of protein replacement therapy for genetic cardiovascular diseases.
Founding Story
Chien's work on modified mRNA encoding VEGF-A for heart repair underpinned Moderna's early cardiovascular collaboration with AstraZeneca. He later moved to the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and stepped back from day-to-day involvement.
Kenneth Chien was born in 1951.