Penn Medicine Provider
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.
Qualifications and experience
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences, International
- American Federation for Clinical Research, National
- Association of American Physicians, National
- National Academy of Inventors, National
- National Academy of Medicine, International
- The American Association of Immunologists, National
My research
Papp TE, Zeng J, Shahnawaz H, Akyianu A, Breda L, Yadegari A, Steward J, Shi R, Li Q, Mui BL, Tam YK, Weissman D, Rivella S, Shuvaev V, Muzykantov VR, Parhiz H. CD47 peptide-cloaked lipid nanoparticles promote cell-specific mRNA delivery , Mol Ther, 33: 2025,3195-3208
Gong N, Kim D, Alameh MG, El-Mayta R, Han EL, Dwivedi G, Palanki R, Shi Q, Han X, Xue L, Xu J, Meng Z, Luo T, Figueroa-Espada CG, Weissman D, Li J, Mitchell MJ. Mannich reaction-based combinatorial libraries identify antioxidant ionizable lipids for mRNA delivery with reduced immunogenicity , Nat Biomed Eng: 2025
Shuvaev VV, Tam YK, Lee BW, Myerson JW, Herbst A, Kiseleva RY, Glassman PM, Parhiz H, Alameh MG, Pardi N, Muramatsu H, Shuvaeva TI, Arguiri E, Marcos-Contreras OA, Hood ED, Brysgel TV, Nong J, Papp TE, Eaton DM, Riley R, Palanki R, Musunuru K, Brenner JS, Mitchell MJ, Ferrari VA, Mui BL, Semple SC, Weppler SA, Atluri P, Margulies KB, Weissman D, Muzykantov VR. Systemic delivery of biotherapeutic RNA to the myocardium transiently modulates cardiac contractility in vivo , Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 122: 2025,e2409266122
Zabala-Peñafiel A, Gonzalez-Lombana C, Alameh MG, Sacramento LA, Mou Z, Phan AT, Aunins EA, Tam YK, Uzonna JE, Weissman D, Hunter CA, Scott P. IL-12 mRNA-LNP promotes dermal resident memory CD4(+) T cell development , NPJ Vaccines, 10: 2025,154
Malewana RD, Stalls V, May A, Lu X, Martinez DR, Schäfer A, Li D, Barr M, Sutherland LL, Lee E, Parks R, Beck WE, Newman A, Bock KW, Minai M, Nagata BM, DeMarco CT, Denny TN, Oguin TH 3rd, Rountree W, Wang Y, Mansouri K, Edwards RJ, Smith L, Sempowski GD, Eaton A, Muramatsu H, Henderson R, Tam Y, Barbosa C, Tang J, Cain DW, Santra S, Moore IN, Andersen H, Lewis MG, Golding H, Seder R, Khurana S, Montefiori DC, Pardi N, Weissman D, Baric RS, Acharya P, Haynes BF, Saunders KO. Nonstabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike mRNA vaccination induces broadly neutralizing antibodies in nonhuman primates , Sci Transl Med, 17: 2025,eadn5651
Arshad M, Atochina-Vasserman EN, Maurya DS, Lu J, Ona N, Vasserman JA, McWilliams BC, Ni H, Berkihiser S, Park WJ, Weissman D, Percec V. Harnessing the Electron-Withdrawing Inductive Effect of One-Component Ionizable Amphiphilic Janus Dendrimers Unveils Cation-π Interactions and Their Important Roles to Targeted mRNA Delivery , J Am Chem Soc, 147: 2025,21347-21356
Aunins EA, Phan AT, Alameh MG, Dwivedi G, Cruz-Morales E, Christian DA, Tam Y, Bunkofske ME, Peñafiel AZ, O'Dea KM, Merolle M, Furey C, Scott P, Vonderheide RH, Hensley SE, Kedl RM, Weissman D, Hunter CA. An Il12 mRNA-LNP adjuvant enhances mRNA vaccine-induced CD8 T cell responses , Sci Immunol, 10: 2025,eads1328
Nakamichi S, von Muhlinen N, Yamada L, Melamed JR, Papp TE, Parhiz H, Weissman D, Horikawa I, Harris CC. SRSF3 knockdown-induced cellular senescence as a possible therapeutic strategy for non-small cell lung cancer , bioRxiv: 2025
Surisaeng T, Wisitrasameewong W, Champaiboon C, Sa-Ard-Iam N, Chanamuangkon T, Thongnuek P, Tam YK, Muramatsu H, Weissman D, Pardi N, Pichyangkul S, Mahanonda R. BMP-2 mRNA-transfected BMSCs promote superior calvarial bone regeneration , Sci Rep, 15: 2025,15022
Blizard GS, Dwivedi G, Pan YG, Hou C, Etersque JM, Said H, Chevrier A, Lavertu M, Ni H, Davis B, Tam Y, Cao Q, Mach RH, Weissman D, Alameh MG, Sellmyer MA. Monitoring mRNA vaccine antigen expression in vivo using PET/CT , Nat Commun, 16: 2025,2234