Melissa J. Moore | |
---|---|
Born | |
Spouse | Janet Kosloff |
Academic background | |
Education | BS, Chemistry, 1984, College of William and Mary PhD, Biological Chemistry, 1989, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Thesis | Mercuric ion reductase: mutagenesis of N- and C-terminal paired cysteines and initial crystallization studies (1989) |
Doctoral advisor | Christopher T. Walsh Phillip Allen Sharp (postdoc) |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Moderna University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School Brandeis University |
Melissa J. Moore is an American biochemist who focuses on RNA. She was the Chief Scientific Officer of Moderna from 2016-2023,where her team contributed to the development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Moore was born and raised in New Market,Virginia, [1] the youngest of four children. [2] After graduating from the College of William and Mary with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Biology,she earned her PhD in Biological Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1989. [1] She wrote her thesis on "Mercuric ion reductase:mutagenesis of n- and c-terminal paired cysteines and initial crystallization studies". [3] As a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Phillip Allen Sharp,she invented technology to join long RNA molecules, [4] and published a seminal paper establishing the chemical mechanism of pre-mRNA splicing. [5]
Following her postdoctoral fellowship,Moore joined the faculty at Brandeis University in 1994,despite being recruited by Harvard University,Yale University,and Northwestern University. [6] Soon after,she was named a Searle Scholar and Packard Fellow. [7] [8] At Brandeis,Moore established her own laboratory in the Biochemistry Department to research pre-mRNA splicing and its connections to intracellular mRNA localization,translation,and degradation. In 1997,she became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator,a position she retained for the following 19 years.
In 2007,Moore moved her research group to the Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Department at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (UMass Med). [9] [10] In 2011,Moore was the recipient of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's William C. Rose Award [11] for excellence in mentoring. That year,Moore and her collaborator Ananth Karumanchi,also received a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges grant for their project "siRNA-based Therapeutics for Preeclampsia." [12] They received a second grant in 2013 to refine the therapy and test it in baboons. [13] That work stemmed from Moore's own experience as a preeclampsia survivor in 2003. [14]
In October 2016,Moore was appointed Chief Scientific Officer,Platform Research,at Moderna Therapeutics. [15] [16] While serving in this role,she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, [17] named a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,and recognized with the 2021 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award. [18] During the COVID-19 pandemic,the work of Moore's team was instrumental in the development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. [19] In December 2020,she and other Moderna leaders addressed the Food and Drug Administration advisory panel to consider recommending emergency use authorization of the mRNA-1273 vaccine. [2]
Moore is married to Janet Kosloff,a retired CEO and entrepreneur in the life science market research sector. They have three children. [2]
UMass Chan Medical School is a public medical school in Worcester,Massachusetts. It is part of the University of Massachusetts system. It is home to three schools:the T.H. Chan School of Medicine,the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences,and the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing,as well as a biomedical research enterprise and a range of public-service initiatives throughout the state.
Joan Elaine Argetsinger Steitz is Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She is known for her discoveries involving RNA,including ground-breaking insights into how ribosomes interact with messenger RNA by complementary base pairing and that introns are spliced by small nuclear ribonucleic proteins (snRNPs),which occur in eukaryotes. In September 2018,Steitz won the Lasker-Koshland Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science. The Lasker award is often referred to as the 'American Nobel' because 87 of the former recipients have gone on to win Nobel prizes.
Moderna,Inc. is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge,Massachusetts,that focuses on RNA therapeutics,primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to carry instructions for proteins to produce an immune response. The company's name is derived from the terms "modified","RNA",and "modern".
Stephanie Seneff is an American computer scientist and anti-vaccine activist. She is a senior research scientist at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Working primarily in the Spoken Language Systems group,her research at CSAIL relates to human–computer interaction,and algorithms for language understanding and speech recognition. In 2011,she began publishing controversial papers in low-impact,open access journals on biology and medical topics;the articles have received "heated objections from experts in almost every field she's delved into," according to the food columnist Ari LeVaux.
Katherine A. Fitzgerald is an Irish-born American molecular biologist and virologist. She is a professor of medicine currently working in the Division of Infectious Disease at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is also the director of the Program in Innate Immunity.
Michael Green was an American molecular biologist and cell biologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School,where he was the chair of the Department of Molecular,Cell and Cancer Biology,director of the UMass Cancer Center,and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Green was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.
Derrick J. Rossi,is a Canadian stem cell biologist and entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of the pharmaceutical company Moderna.
Phillip D. Zamore is an American molecular biologist and biochemist who co-developed the first in vitro system for studying the mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi). He is the Gretchen Stone Cook Professor of Biomedical Sciences at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School,Worcester,Massachusetts. Zamore is chair of the RNA Therapeutics Institute (RTI),established in 2009,and has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator since 2008.
An mRNAvaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine delivers molecules of antigen-encoding mRNA into cells,which use the designed mRNA as a blueprint to build foreign protein that would normally be produced by a pathogen or by a cancer cell. These protein molecules stimulate an adaptive immune response that teaches the body to identify and destroy the corresponding pathogen or cancer cells. The mRNA is delivered by a co-formulation of the RNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles that protect the RNA strands and help their absorption into the cells.
The Moderna COVID‑19 vaccine,sold under the brand name Spikevax,is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the American company Moderna,the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID),and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Depending on the jurisdiction,it is authorized for use in humans aged six months,twelve years,or eighteen years and older. It provides protection against COVID-19,which is caused by infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Kizzmekia "Kizzy" Shanta Corbett is an American viral immunologist. She is an Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Shutzer Assistant Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute since June 2021.
Katalin "Kati" Karikó is a Hungarian-American biochemist who specializes in ribonucleic acid (RNA)-mediated mechanisms,particularly in vitro-transcribed messenger RNA (mRNA) for protein replacement therapy. Karikólaid the scientific groundwork for mRNA vaccines,overcoming major obstacles and skepticism in the scientific community. Karikóreceived the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2023 for her work,along with American immunologist Drew Weissman.
Drew Weissman is an American physician and immunologist known for his contributions to RNA biology. Weissman is the inaugural Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research,director of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation,and professor of medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn).
Flagship Pioneering is an American life sciences venture capital company based in Cambridge,Massachusetts that invests in biotechnology,life sciences,health and sustainability companies. Portfolio companies include Moderna,Indigo Agriculture,Inari Agriculture and Novomer. The firm both funds and incubates companies.
The CureVac COVID-19 vaccine was a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by CureVac N.V. and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). The vaccine showed inadequate results in its Phase III trials with only 47% efficacy. In October 2021 CureVac abandoned further development and production plans for CVnCoV and refocused efforts on a cooperation with GlaxoSmithKline.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization is an advisory body that provides the Government of Canada with medical and scientific advice relating to human immunization.
Robert Wallace Malone is an American physician and biochemist. His early work focused on mRNA technology,pharmaceuticals,and drug repurposing research. During the COVID-19 pandemic,Malone promoted misinformation about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
In many countries,the dissemination of varied claims and perspectives regarding COVID-19 vaccines has sparked widespread public discussion. These include concerns about potential side effects,differing interpretations of how the immune system responds to vaccination,and debates over the development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Additionally,stories such as COVID-19 being linked to 5G technology and other debated information have also emerged. This spread of information,including content from anti-vaccination advocates,may have influenced people's attitudes towards vaccination. In response,governments and private organizations around the world have introduced measures to encourage or mandate vaccination,such as lotteries,mandates,and free entry to events. These measures have further fueled debates about their legality and effectiveness.
Katherine Luzuriaga is an American physician and pediatric immunologist who primarily works on HIV/AIDS at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS). She is currently a vice provost at UMMS and the director of the UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science.
Susan M. Berget is a biochemist and professor emerita at the Baylor College of Medicine. Originally involved in the MIT lab of Phillip Sharp for her postdoctoral fellowship,she was instrumental in the research that led to the discovery of RNA splicing and split genes,which awarded Sharp the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Berget was excluded,however,from receiving credit,which inhibited her attempts to apply for a professorship afterwards,particularly due to Sharp's letter of recommendation also not giving her credit for the research in his lab. Eventually,Nancy Hopkins and David Botstein convinced Sharp to rewrite his letter,allowing Berget to receive a professor invitation from Rice University.