Rino Rappuoli is Scientific Director of the Biotecnopolo di Siena Foundation, Italy, Honorary Professor of Vaccinology at Imperial College London, and Senior Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Siena. He holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Siena and was a visiting scientist at Rockefeller University and Harvard Medical School. He has led R&D teams at GSK Vaccines, Novartis, Chiron, and Sclavo. Rappuoli is a member of prestigious scientific academies including NAS, AAAS, AIMBE, EMBO, the Royal Society, and Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. His awards include the Italian Presidential Gold Medal, Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal, Canada Gairdner Award, European Inventor Award, Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, and the Robert Koch Award. He introduced scientific concepts such as genetic detoxification, cellular microbiology, reverse vaccinology, and the pangenome. He developed licensed vaccines for meningococcus and influenza, and remains a globally influential figure in vaccinology.