Harvard Professor Becomes Billionaire On Strength And Surge Of A Single Stock Investment | Celebrity Net Worth 2026

Dr. Timothy Springer, Ph.D., is a professor at Harvard Medical School. He's an immunologist known for his pioneering work in discovering the first integrins and how these cell adhesion molecules function in the immune system. His research has paved the way for the development of therapeutic antibodies, known as selective adhesion molecule inhibitors, to treat autoimmune diseases. Some years ago, Springer invested $5 million in Moderna, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company that is focused on drug discovery and drug development, which makes sense, based on his educational and career background. Well, good news for Springer is that Moderna went public in late 2018 and had the biggest biotech IPO in history.

Moderna, Inc, was founded in 2010 under than name, ModeRNA. It was based on Harvard University research by Derrick Rossi, who developed a method for modifying mRNA, transfecting it into human cells, dedifferentiating mRNA into stem cells, which then differentiated into the desired cell types. Rossi approached his fellow Harvard faculty member Tim Springer to become the company's first investor and he did.