Melissa Moore

Chief Scientific Officer & Member of Scientific Advisory Board, Moderna

Search every verified Melissa Moore interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Melissa Moore, chief scientific officer at Moderna, discussed the potential of mRNA-based medicine in a May 2022 TED talk. She stated that the rapid development and deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated that mRNA vaccines are "both remarkably safe and incredibly effective." Moore said that mRNA technology gives scientists the ability to "not only prevent disease but also treat previously intractable disorders," and noted that as of her talk, over 175 clinical trials using mRNA-based medicines were recruiting patients. She described a collaboration with the American Defense Department to miniaturize mRNA manufacturing equipment so it could fit into a single shipping container for rapid global deployment. In an August 2025 appearance on Dr. Oz, Moore spoke about her personal history as the daughter of convicted serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson. She said she learned of her father's crimes at age 15, when her mother told the family he was in jail for murder. Moore described witnessing him torture animals as a child and said he once told her he "know[s] how to murder someone and get away with it." She stated that she has "severed" communication with her father, describing his letters as "manipulation" and "coercion." Moore said she had contemplated suicide but decided to "make the life that I want" rather than remain defined by her father's actions.