Robert S. Langer

Dr. Robert S. Langer is an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recognized for his significant contributions to biotechnology and biomedical engineering. Langer is known for pioneering controlled release systems and transdermal drug delivery technologies, which enable the administration of therapeutics or extraction of analytes through the skin without invasive procedures. Research by Langer and his colleagues has had a global impact on drug delivery and medical device innovation.

Langer's early career included postdoctoral work with Dr. Judah Folkman at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, where he contributed to the isolation of the first angiogenesis inhibitor, a macromolecule that advanced cancer research. Despite initial skepticism and multiple rejected grant applications, Langer developed a drug-delivery system for brain cancer with Henry Brem of Johns Hopkins University Medical School, enabling localized chemotherapy with reduced side effects. He has also made substantial advances in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Langer has authored more than 1,600 scientific articles and holds over 1,500 issued and pending patents, licensed or sublicensed to more than 400 companies in the pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology, and medical device sectors. He co-founded Moderna and played a key role in the development of its COVID-19 vaccine, building on his research in drug delivery and mRNA technology. Langer's laboratory at MIT is the largest academic biomedical engineering lab globally, supporting over 100 researchers.

Langer has received major honors in science and engineering, including the Charles Stark Draper Prize, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, the United States National Medal of Science, the United States National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the Gairdner Foundation International Award, the Millennium Prize, the Priestley Medal, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Kyoto Prize, the Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research, and the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience. He is among the few individuals elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

Langer's research includes the development of nanoparticles for mRNA delivery, utilizing polymers and lipids, and the integration of these technologies with 3D printing for organ and tissue-on-a-chip models. He has served as a member and Chairman of the United States Food and Drug Administration's Science Board. Many of his former students and postdoctoral researchers have become leaders in academia and industry, with dozens elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the Royal Academy of Engineering. Langer's work continues to shape the fields of drug delivery, biotechnology, and biomedical engineering.