Dr Rino Rappuoli image

Dr Rino Rappuoli

Member of Constructor Group Strategic Advisory Board

Chief Scientist Emeritus & Head of External Research and Development at GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines 

Rappuoli earned his doctoral and bachelor's degrees in biological sciences at the University of Siena. Rino Rappuoli is Head of Vaccine research and development (R&D) at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Vaccines. Previously, he has served as visiting scientist at Rockefeller University and Harvard Medical School and held roles at Sclavo, Vaccine Research and CSO, Chiron Corporation, and Novartis Vaccines. He is known globally for his work in vaccines and immunology. He co-founded the field of cellular microbiology, a discipline combining cell biology and microbiology, and pioneered the genomic approach to vaccine development known as reverse vaccinology. 

Rappuoli led Chiron Corporation's development of adjuvanted influenza vaccines, MENJUGATE(R) conjugate vaccine against meningococcal-C disease and the first recombinant bacterial vaccine against pertussis. Currently, Rappuoli is actively involved in the research and development of further vaccines against meningococcal disease and avian and pandemic influenza. 

Major achievements include development of CRM197used in Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, and pneumococcus vaccines; an acellular pertussis vaccine containing a genetically detoxified pertussis toxin; the first conjugate vaccines against meningococcus; MF59 adjuvant for influenza; the meningococcus B genome-derived vaccine. During his career, he has introduced several novel scientific concepts: genetic detoxification in 1987; cellular microbiology in 1996; reverse vaccinology in 2000; pan-genome in 2005. 

Major Awards:

  • Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize in 1991
  • Italian President Gold Medal in 2005
  • the Albert Sabin Gold Medal in 2009
  • In 2013 he was nominated third most influential person worldwide in the field of vaccines by Terrapin
  • Fellowship of Imperial College London Faculty of Medicine and the Maurice Hilleman Award, 2015
  • European Inventor Award 2017 in the category of "Lifetime achievement" by the European
  • Patent Office
  • Foreign Member of the Royal Society 2016
  • Robert Koch Prize, 2019