Dr. Weissman is a member of the Crazy 8 team studying a vaccine for childhood cancer predisposition syndromes.

He is a 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 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. Before joining Penn in 1997, Weissman was a fellow at the National Institutes of Health studying HIV. 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.