What happens when you volunteer to be the first human injected with mRNA? For Dr. Steve Pascolo, it meant glowing skin, but it took many years for this technology to hit the mainstream.
In this episode of Balancing the Future, Micah and Chai speak with Dr. Steve Pascolo, a senior scientist in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Zurich and co-founder of CureVac, about his groundbreaking role in testing mRNA back in 2003. They explore why the scientific community was sceptical for so long, how COVID-19 changed everything, and why mRNA could hold the key to treating not just infectious diseases, but also cancer, autoimmune conditions, and even aging.
They also dig into the technical and practical realities of working with mRNA: the challenges of stability, the role of lipid nanoparticles, and the lessons learned from scaling production during the pandemic. Steve shares how chemical synthesis, AI, and cross-disciplinary collaboration could accelerate the next wave of mRNA therapies.
His advice for young scientists is simple but powerful: true breakthroughs require teamwork across fields, from chemistry and biology to medicine and computer science. The future of mRNA is not just vaccines; it is a platform for reimagining medicine itself.
LINKS
SOURCES
The tangled history of mRNA vaccines – Nature.com
The Long History of mRNA Vaccines – Johns Hopkins: Bloomberg School of Public Health
Webinar: PAT and Model-Based Approach to Accelerate Biopharma Process Development - Merck KGaA and METTLER TOLEDO
Scaling Up the Global COVID-19 Vaccination Program: Production, Allocation, and Distribution with an Emphasis on Equity - PubMed Central
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Join Micah Schweizer and new host Chai Nussbaumer on Balancing the Future as they dive into the innovations shaping our world. From the potential of hydrogen in powering a greener planet, to the rise of GLP-1s in weight loss, and the frontier of microbiome-based treatments, they explore the science that's transforming our lives.
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