Jeff Coller, PhD, is the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of RNA Biology and Therapeutics at Johns Hopkins University and Director of the RNA Innovation Center. His laboratory made the foundational discoveries uncovering the major mechanism governing how messenger RNA, the molecule that carries genetic instructions from DNA to build the proteins our cells need, is stabilized across all multicellular organisms, including humans. The mechanism was hidden in the genetic code itself.

That discovery proved to be a critical asset for the COVID-19 vaccines. The same graduate student who helped make that discovery went on to design the mRNA sequence behind Spikevax, the Moderna vaccine.

Beyond the COVID-19 vaccines, Jeff has worked to turn his discoveries into treatments. He co-founded Tevard Biosciences to develop treatments for rare genetic diseases, and he is a founder of the Alliance for mRNA Medicines, the global industry organization advancing the field. At Johns Hopkins, he is leading an initiative to make the university the world’s leader in genetic medicine across every dimension: science, clinical care, policy, and regulation.

That leadership extends to the public square. Through op-eds in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Fortune, broadcast interviews, and testimony before state legislatures, he counters misinformation about mRNA and makes the case for sustained investment in it. His New York Times essay, “This May Be the Most Important Medical Story of the Decade,” argued that we now have the technology to cure thousands of rare diseases but lack the economic model to deliver it. That challenge is the subject of his talk.