Derrick Rossi is a scientist and entrepreneur who is actively involved in the study of stem cells. He is the co-founder of the Moderna company, which made a big contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic by creating a vaccine. Thanks to his work, Rossi is known not only in Canada but also far beyond its borders. Learn more about the life, research and discovery of Derrick Rossi at toronto.name.
Childhood and education
Derrick was born in Toronto. He is not the only child in the family, so he has four siblings. His father, Fred, spent more than 50 years working in auto repair shops. His mother was a business owner and co-owner of a Maltese bakery.
Rossi attended Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate in Scarborough. He has been interested in molecular biology since his childhood. After graduating from high school, the boy got a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto. Subsequently, he obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Helsinki.
From 2003 to 2007, Rossi held a post-doc position at Stanford University in Irving Weissman’s laboratory.
Career development
Rossi was appointed Associate Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard Medical School and Harvard University in 2008. Simultaneously, he was engaged in research activities at the Immune Diseases Institute (IDI).
In 2010, the scientist became a co-founder of the Moderna company. Then Rossi proved that pluripotent stem cells can be transformed and reprogrammed. The Time magazine called the discovery one of the best medical breakthroughs of the year. Derrick Rossi invented a safer method of creating pluripotent stem cells, which are used to treat diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.
In 2013, having conducted a lot of experiments, Rossi and his team reported that they managed to improve heart function in mice and increase their chances of survival by redirecting their stem cells into cardiovascular cell types.
Based on this research, Moderna made a $240 million contract with AstraZeneca.
In 2015, Rossi became a scientific co-founder of Intellia Therapeutics, which uses CRISPR gene editing to develop new medicines to treat genetic diseases.
In 2018, Rossi decided to resign from all his positions at Harvard and focused on his entrepreneurial activities. As of 2022, Derrick Rossi holds the position of interim CEO of the New York Stem Cell Foundation.
A great contribution to science
Rossi actively develops and promotes new effective methods of treatment using biotechnology. Thus, he contributes to the creation of new approaches in regenerative medicine. His research focuses on various aspects of stem cell biology.
In addition, having founded the Moderna company, the scientist managed to quickly find investors and realise his plans for the creation of new medicines and vaccines.
All of Rossi’s research focused on stem cells. In particular, he was interested in whether he could modify RNA molecules to transmit the genetic code to human cells. It is worth noting that genes and their mutations underlie almost all genetic human diseases.
The scientist realised that if a cell could be reprogrammed, it is possible to edit bad genes and mutations, which, in theory, enables the treatment of various genetic disorders. At first, Rossi didn’t even expect that his discovery would contribute to the creation of new types of vaccines in the future. It is worth noting that all of Rossi’s research provided the basis for the creation of Moderna’s vaccine against COVID-19.
In 2021, Rossi won the Princess of Asturias Award for his numerous achievements, painstaking work and scientific research.