About this episode

Jeff Coller discusses the role of mRNA in medicine and its potential to revolutionize disease treatment and prevention.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) plays a literally central role in the functioning of life as we know it, shuttling information back and forth between the DNA where it is stored to the ribosome where it is used to produce proteins. RNA may even have been the first molecule to kick-start the origin of life. Today, scientists are learning how to manipulate mRNA to cure and prevent diseases, whether through vaccination or literally editing one's DNA. Jeff Coller explains how it all works and how mRNA is revolutionizing medicine as we know it. Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/06/15/357-jeff-coller-on-mrna-vaccines-and-bespoke-therapeutics/ Support Mindscape on Patreon . Jeff Coller received his Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is currently Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the RNA Innovation Center at Johns Hopkins University. He is co-founder of Tevard Biosciences and the Alliance for mRNA Medicines, and leads the REPAIRx consortium. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Web site Johns Hopkins web page Google Scholar…

People in this episode

Host: Sean Carroll

Guest: Jeff Coller

Topics covered

• mRNA
• vaccines
• therapeutics
• biomedical engineering
• disease prevention
• RNA

Keywords

• mRNA
• vaccines
• therapeutics
• biomedical engineering
• disease prevention
• RNA manipulation
• DNA editing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Johns Hopkins University, Tevard Biosciences, Alliance for mRNA Medicines, REPAIRx consortium, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Books & works: This May Be the Most Important Medical Story of the Decade

Places: University of Wisconsin-Madison

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