Sharon Moalem

Moalem was born in Israel before his family immigrated to Toronto, Canada, when he was 18 months old. Moalem then studied biology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada before receiving a PhD in human physiology, specializing in neurogenetics, from the University of Toronto. He went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. After his junior year in college, he and four other students worked with the King of Thailand to run an orphanage for infants and young children who came from HIV-positive mothers. Moalem’s subsequent research also led to developments in genetic understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and several rare inherited syndromes. Moalem has also founded two biotechnology companies and been awarded 25 patents for inventions related to biotechnology and human health. He has also written several bestselling books intended to make science accessible to the general public, including Survival of the Sickest (2007). Moalem currently lives in New York City.