The 2011 TIME 100 Poll

Cast your votes for the leaders, artists, innovators, icons and heroes that you think are the most influential people in the world. Though official voting for inclusion on the TIME 100 list has now closed (with Rain as the 2011 readers' choice), users can continue to vote for their favorites until the final list, selected by our editors, is revealed on Thursday, April 21st

TIME 100 Candidates

Derrick Rossi

By TIME StaffMonday, Apr. 04, 2011
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Justin Ide / Harvard University

Age: 45
Occupation: Assistant professor, stem cell and regenerative biology, Harvard University
Previous TIME 100 appearances: 0

Harvard biologist Derrick Rossi may have helped to neutralize the primary argument that has slowed federal funding of stem-cell research: rather than using the cells of discarded embryos, Rossi found a new way to dial back adult skin cells to an embryonic state, creating what's called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. His innovation to the existing technology, announced in September of 2010, could unlock effective treatments for everything from Parkinson's disease to Alzheimer's.

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