# 357 | Jeff Coller on mRNA, Vaccines, and Bespoke Therapeutics

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sean-carroll-s-mindscape-science-society-philosophy-culture-arts-and-ideas-444522/357-jeff-coller-on-mrna-vaccines-and-bespoke-therapeutics
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sean-carroll-s-mindscape-science-society-philosophy-culture-arts-and-ideas-444522/357-jeff-coller-on-mrna-vaccines-and-bespoke-therapeutics.md
Podcast: [Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas](https://stenobird.com/podcast/sean-carroll-s-mindscape-science-society-philosophy-culture-arts-and-ideas-444522)
Published: 2026-06-15T11:15:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/06/15/357-jeff-coller-on-mrna-vaccines-and-bespoke-therapeutics/
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/1d1ac211-8392-45fe-82db-99fa7f77076e/Jeff_Coller.mp3?dest-id=5264190
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sean-carroll-s-mindscape-science-society-philosophy-culture-arts-and-ideas-444522/episodes/357-jeff-coller-on-mrna-vaccines-and-bespoke-therapeutics
Duration seconds: 4791

## Resource

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 publications "This May Be the Most Important Medical Story of the Decade," New York Times, April 9, 2026

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sean-carroll-s-mindscape-science-society-philosophy-culture-arts-and-ideas-444522/episodes/357-jeff-coller-on-mrna-vaccines-and-bespoke-therapeutics/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/sean-carroll-s-mindscape-science-society-philosophy-culture-arts-and-ideas-444522/357-jeff-coller-on-mrna-vaccines-and-bespoke-therapeutics.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.