Rino Rappuoli is Chief Scientist and Head External R&D, GSK Vaccines. A PhD in Biological Sciences he has served as visiting scientist at Rockefeller University and Harvard Medical School. His past roles comprise Head R&D, Sclavo, Head Vaccine Research and CSO, Chiron Corporation, and Global Head R&D, Novartis Vaccines.
Major achievements include development of CRM197 used in H.influenzae, N.meningitidis, and pneumococcus vaccines; an acellular pertussis vaccine containing a genetically detoxified pertussis toxin; the first conjugate vaccines against meningococcus; MF59 adjuvant for influenza; the meningococcus B genome-derived vaccine.
He is elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the European Molecular Biology Organization. Awards include: Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (1991), Italian President Gold Medal (2005), Albert Sabin Gold Medal (2009). In 2013 he was nominated third most influential person worldwide in the field of vaccines (Terrapin). In 2015 he was awarded Fellowship of Imperial College Faculty of Medicine London and the Maurice Hilleman Award.
He has introduced several novel scientific concepts: genetic detoxification, 1987; cellular microbiology, 1996; reverse vaccinology, 2000; pangenome, 2005.
Professional position
- Global Head of Vaccines R&D, GSK Vaccines
