About me

Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research

Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, is a world-renowned physician and researcher at Penn Medicine, best known for his contributions to RNA biology and the COVID-19 vaccines. Weissman and Katalin Karikó, PhD, were jointly awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discoveries that enabled the modified mRNA technology being used in Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna's vaccines to prevent COVID-19.

More than 15 years ago at Penn Medicine, Weissman and Karikó found a way to modify mRNA and later developed a delivery technique to package the mRNA in fat droplets called lipid nanoparticles. This ensured that it could reach the proper part of the body and trigger the immune system to fight disease.

These laboratory breakthroughs made mRNA safe, effective, and practical for use as a vaccine against COVID. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine received FDA approval in August 2021, and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized by the FDA for emergency use.

Dr. Weissman and his team are currently at work on a pan-coronavirus vaccine to stop the next coronavirus epidemic, a universal flu vaccine, and a vaccine to prevent herpes. They are working with Penn colleagues to develop cancer therapeutics with mRNA technology. Weissman's lab is also developing a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine with Chulalongkorn University in Thailand to help residents of Thailand and other surrounding nations with fewer financial resources than the United States access lifesaving vaccines.

Before joining Penn in 1997, Weissman was a fellow at the National Institutes of Health studying HIV in the lab of Dr. Anthony Fauci. Weissman received his bachelor's degree and master's degree from Brandeis University. He earned his MD and PhD from Boston University and completed his residency at Beth Israel Hospital.

Read a Q&A with Dr. Weissman about mRNA vaccines

Education and training

Medical School: Boston University School of Medicine
Residency: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Fellowship: National Institutes of Health

My Locations

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: On the medical staff, but does not have privileges to treat patients in the hospital.

Dr. Weissman is a Penn Medicine physician.

Qualifications and experience

Memberships

My research

Cui Y, Cibichakravarthy B, Tang X, Alameh MG, Dwivedi G, Weissman D, Fikrig E. Salp14 epitope-based mRNA vaccination induces early recognition of a tick bite , Vaccine, 42: 2024,126304

Li Q, Shi R, Xu H, AboulFotouh K, Sung MMH, Oguin TH, Hayes M, Moon C, Dao HM, Ni H, Sahakijpijarn S, Cano C, Davenport GJ, Williams RO 3rd, Le Huray J, Cui Z, Weissman D. Thin-film freeze-drying of an influenza virus hemagglutinin mRNA vaccine in unilamellar lipid nanoparticles with blebs , J Control Release: 2024

Hajnik RL, Plante JA, Reddy Bonam S, Rafael GH, Liang Y, Hazell NC, Walker J, Reyna RA, Walker DH, Alameh MG, Weissman D, Weaver SC, Plante KS, Hu H. Broad protection and respiratory immunity of dual mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 variants , NPJ Vaccines, 9: 2024,160

Gong N, Zhong W, Alameh MG, Han X, Xue L, El-Mayta R, Zhao G, Vaughan AE, Qin Z, Xu F, Hamilton AG, Kim D, Xu J, Kim J, Teng X, Li J, Liang XJ, Weissman D, Guo W, Mitchell MJ. Tumour-derived small extracellular vesicles act as a barrier to therapeutic nanoparticle delivery , Nat Mater: 2024

Mu Z, Whitley J, Martik D, Sutherland L, Newman A, Barr M, Parks R, Wiehe K, Cain DW, Hodges KZ, Venkatayogi S, Lee EM, Smith L, Mansouri K, Edwards RJ, Wang Y, Rountree W, Alameh M-G, Tam Y, Barbosa C, Tomai M, Lewis MG, Santrai S, Maughan M, Tian M, Alt FW, Weissman D, Saunders KO, Haynes BF. Comparison of the immunogenicity of mRNA-encoded and protein HIV-1 Env-ferritin nanoparticle designs , J Virol, 98: 2024,e0013724

Palanki R, Riley JS, Bose SK, Luks V, Dave A, Kus N, White BM, Ricciardi AS, Swingle KL, Xue L, Sung D, Thatte AS, Safford HC, Chaluvadi VS, Carpenter M, Han EL, Maganti R, Hamilton AG, Mrksich K, Billingsley MB, Zoltick PW, Alameh MG, Weissman D, Mitchell MJ, Peranteau WH. In utero delivery of targeted ionizable lipid nanoparticles facilitates in vivo gene editing of hematopoietic stem cells , Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 121: 2024,e2400783121

Chappell ME, Breda L, Tricoli L, Guerra A, Jarocha DJ, Castruccio Castracani C, Papp TE, Tanaka N, Hamilton N, Triebwasser MP, Ghiaccio V, Fedorky M, Gollomp K, Bochenek V, Roche AM, Everett JK, Cook EJ, Bushman FD, Teawtrakul N, Glentis S, Kattamis A Prof, Mui BL, Tam YK, Weissman D, Abdulmalik O, Parhiz H, Rivella S. Use of HSC Targeted LNP to Generate a Mouse Model of Lethal α-Thalassemia and Treatment via Lentiviral Gene Therapy , Blood, 1: 2024,2023023349

Han X, Alameh MG, Gong N, Xue L, Ghattas M, Bojja G, Xu J, Zhao G, Warzecha CC, Padilla MS, El-Mayta R, Dwivedi G, Xu Y, Vaughan AE, Wilson JM, Weissman D, Mitchell MJ. Fast and facile synthesis of amidine-incorporated degradable lipids for versatile mRNA delivery in vivo , Nat Chem: 2024

Guenaga J, Alirezaei M, Feng Y, Alameh MG, Lee WH, Baboo S, Cluff J, Wilson R, Bale S, Ozorowski G, Lin P, Tam Y, Diedrich JK, Yates JR 3rd, Paulson JC, Ward AB, Weissman D, Wyatt RT. mRNA lipid nanoparticles expressing cell-surface cleavage independent HIV Env trimers elicit autologous tier-2 neutralizing antibodies , Front Immunol, 15: 2024,1426232

Yanik S, Venkatesh V, Gordy JT, Gabriel-Alameh M, Meza J, Li Y, Glass E, Flores-Garcia Y, Tam Y, Chaiyawong N, Sarkar D, Weissman D, Markham R, Srinivasan P. Immature dendritic cell-targeting mRNA vaccine expressing PfCSP enhances protective immune responses against Plasmodium liver infection , Res Sq: 2024

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