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The most definitive accounting of leaders and influencers in the life sciences

There’s never been a better time to recognize standout individuals in health, medicine, and science. And although there are countless contenders to choose from, we’ve selected just 46 — an homage to the number of chromosomes in human DNA.

Many on the STATUS List are well-known as changemakers; others are largely unheralded heroes. But all have compelling stories to tell. 

There is no easy prescription for assembling this kind of list. As part of a months-long process, STAT leaned on its seasoned editorial team, along with a panel of external experts, to research and identify hundreds of finalists. Then the list was winnowed down. Judges placed special emphasis on people who have sought to help others and build community in these often-divisive times.

We think the result is a list as diverse as it is fascinating. We hope you agree.

See below to read more. "Editor's pick" denotes a longer profile.

Register for the STATUS List Spotlights Series to meet a few members of this inaugural list.

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All Industries
All Industries Academia Business Government Medicine Nonprofit Philanthropy

Business

Noubar Afeyan

Founder, Flagship Pioneering

Business

Bill John Baker

Executive chairman, Cherokee Nation Businesses

Editor's Pick

Business

Stéphane Bancel

CEO, Moderna

Business

Cori Bargmann

Head of science, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Academia

Regina Barzilay

Professor, MIT

Academia

Trevor Bedford

Researcher, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Academia

Carolyn Bertozzi

Professor, Stanford

Editor's Pick

Academia

Sangeeta Bhatia

Professor, MIT

Academia

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo

Vice dean, UCSF

Medicine

Oni Blackstock

Founder, Health Justice

Medicine

Uché Blackstock

Founder and CEO, Advancing Health Equity

Business

Albert Bourla

Chairman and CEO, Pfizer

Medicine

Rhea Boyd

Pediatrician

Academia

Otis Brawley

Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Government

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure

Administrator, CMS

Government

Francis Collins

Acting science adviser to the president

Editor's Pick

Academia

Kizzmekia Corbett

Assistant professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Business

Sue Desmond-Hellmann

Former CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Academia

Jennifer Doudna

Professor, UC Berkeley; founder, Innovative Genomics Institute

Government

Anthony Fauci

Director, NIAID

Government

Elizabeth Fowler

Director, CMS Innovation Center

Business

Kenneth Frazier

Executive chairman, Merck; Chairman, Health Assurance Initiatives, General Catalyst

Editor's Pick

Business

Yvonne Greenstreet

CEO, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Academia

David Hayes-Bautista

Professor, UCLA

Business

Penny Heaton

Global therapeutic area head, vaccines, Janssen

Academia

James Hildreth

President and CEO, Meharry Medical College

Medicine

Leroy Hood

Co-founder, Institute for Systems Biology

Academia

Peter Hotez

Co-director, Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development; professor, Baylor College of Medicine

Editor's Pick

Academia

Freeman Hrabowski III

President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Editor's Pick

Business

Kathrin Jansen

Head of vaccine research and development, Pfizer

Government

Pramila Jayapal

U.S. representative

Editor's Pick

Business

Katalin Karikó

Senior vice president, BioNTech

Business

Daphne Koller

Founder and CEO, Insitro

Editor's Pick

Government

Admiral Rachel L. Levine

Assistant secretary for health, HHS

Academia

David Liu

Merkin Institute director, Broad Institute

Editor's Pick

Medicine

Beverly Malone

CEO, National League for Nursing

Business

Michelle McMurry-Heath

President and CEO, BIO

Editor's Pick

Nonprofit

David Mitchell

President and founder, Patients for Affordable Drugs

Government

Vivek Murthy

U.S. surgeon general

Business

Robert Nelsen

Co-founder, ARCH Venture Partners

Nonprofit

Robert Perez

Founder and chairman, Life Science Cares; operating partner, General Atlantic

Academia

Joan Reede

Dean for diversity and community partnership, Harvard Medical School

Business

Leonard Schleifer

CEO, Regeneron

Medicine

Eric Topol

Director, Scripps Research Translational Institute

Medicine

Siobhan Wescott

Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Business

Anne Wojcicki

CEO and co-founder, 23andMe

Credits
STATUS List Creator and Strategy Adviser: Robert Buderi
Reporting and Research Heads: Robert Buderi, Lauren Gravitz
Reporters: Robert Buderi, Wade Roush, Neil Savage, and Emily Sohn
Head of Community: Jason Heathcote
Art Direction: Jen Keefe
Copy Editors: Sarah Mupo and Karen Pennar
Web Development: James Morrison and Chelsea Skovgaard
Project Management: Jacqui Montano and Tony Guzmán