Monday, Apr. 04, 2011
Derrick Rossi
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.