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The ultimate list of leaders in life sciences.
There’s never been a better time to recognize standout individuals in health, medicine, and science. 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 leaders and influencers in areas like biotechnology and public health; others are largely unheralded heroes. But all have compelling stories to tell.
There is no easy prescription for assembling this list. As part of a months-long process, STAT leaned on its seasoned editorial team to research and identify hundreds of finalists who made noteworthy contributions to their fields over the past year. Then a panel of STAT reporters and editors winnowed the list down, placing 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.
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Nonprofit
Juan Acosta
LGBTQ+ mental health advocate
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Medicine
Toyin Ajayi
Co-founder and CEO, Cityblock Health
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Philanthropy
Laura & John Arnold
Co-founders, Arnold Ventures
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Academia
Alberto Ascherio
Professor of epidemiology and nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
![](jpg/euan-ashley-645x645.jpg)
Academia
Euan Ashley
Professor of medicine and genomics, Stanford School of Medicine
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Business
Seth Berkley
CEO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
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Government
Monica Bertagnolli
Director, National Cancer Institute
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Academia
Carolyn Bertozzi
Professor of chemistry, Stanford University
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Academia
Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo
Editor-in-chief, JAMA
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Academia
Maria Elena Bottazzi
Co-director, Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development
![](jpg/albert-bourla-645x645.jpg)
Business
Albert Bourla
Chairman and CEO, Pfizer
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Government
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Government
Robert Califf
Commissioner, FDA
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Business
Ivan Cheung
CEO, U.S. operations, Eisai
![](jpg/demetre-daskalakis-645x645.jpg)
Government
Demetre Daskalakis
Deputy coordinator, White House National MPox Response
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Academia
Daniel Dawes
Executive director, Global Health Equity Institute, Meharry Medical College
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Medicine
Abigail Echo-Hawk
Director, Urban Indian Health Institute
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Medicine
Jesse M. Ehrenfeld
President-elect, American Medical Association
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Academia
Amy Finkelstein
Professor of economics, MIT
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Business
Yvonne Greenstreet
CEO, Alnylam
![](jpg/bartley-griffith-645x645.jpg)
Medicine
Bartley Griffith
Director, Cardiac and Lung Transplant Programs, University of Maryland Medical Center
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Nonprofit
Vanessa Grubbs
Founder and president, Black Doc Village
![](jpg/rachel-hardeman-645x645.jpg)
Academia
Rachel Hardeman
Director, Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity, UMN
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Philanthropy
Sandra Hernández
President & CEO, California Health Care Foundation
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Academia
Akiko Iwasaki
Professor of immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine
![](jpg/johnathan-jackson-645x645.jpg)
Academia
Jonathan Jackson
Executive director, CARE Research Center at Mass. General
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Government
Ashish Jha
White House coronavirus response coordinator
![](jpg/keawe%ca%bbaimoku-kaholokula-1-645x645.jpg)
Academia
Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula
Chair, Native Hawaiian Health, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
![](jpg/reshma-kewalramani-645x645.jpg)
Business
Reshma Kewalramani
CEO, Vertex
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Academia
Marc Lipsitch
Director of science, CDC Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics
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Nonprofit
Alexis McGill Johnson
President & CEO, Planned Parenthood
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Academia
Valerie Montgomery Rice
President & CEO, Morehouse School of Medicine
![](jpg/nelya-melnitchouk-645x645.jpg)
Nonprofit
Nelya Melnitchouk
Co-founder and CEO, Global Medical Knowledge Alliance
![](jpg/jim-o_connell-645x645.jpg)
Nonprofit
Jim O’Connell
President, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
![](jpg/steve-pearson-645x645.jpg)
Nonprofit
Steven Pearson
Founder and president, ICER
![](jpg/roderic-pettigrew-645x645.jpg)
Academia
Roderic Pettigrew
Dean, Intercollegiate School of Engineering Medicine, Texas A&M
![](jpg/arati-prabhakar-645x645.jpg)
Government
Arati Prabhakar
Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
![](jpg/jason-resendez-645x645.jpg)
Nonprofit
Jason Resendez
President and CEO, National Alliance for Caregiving
![](jpg/anne-rimoin-645x645.jpg)
Academia
Anne Rimoin
Professor of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
![](jpg/martine-rothblatt-645x645.jpg)
Business
Martine Rothblatt
CEO, United Therapeutics
![](jpg/ala-stanford-645x645.jpg)
Government
Ala Stanford
Regional director, Department of Health and Human Services
![](jpg/selwyn-vickers-1-645x645.jpg)
Medicine
Selwyn M. Vickers
President and CEO, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
![](jpg/nora-volkow-645x645.jpg)
Government
Nora Volkow
Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse
![](jpg/emily-wang-645x645.jpg)
Academia
Emily Wang
Professor, Yale School of Medicine
![](jpg/renee-wegrzyn-645x645.jpg)
Government
Renee Wegrzyn
Director, ARPA-H
![](jpg/robert-winn-645x645.jpg)
Medicine
Robert Winn
Director, Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center
STATUS List Creator and Strategy Adviser: Robert Buderi
Reporting and Research: Robert Buderi, Wade Roush, Neil Savage, Emily Sohn, Cassandra Willyard
Editor: Sarah Todd
Copy Editors: Sarah Mupo and Karen Pennar
Art Direction: Jen Keefe
Head of Community Programs: Jason Heathcote