Robert Malone

American physician and biochemist whose early work focused on mRNA technology, pharmaceuticals, and drug repurposing research. In the decade after earning his MD, Malone taught pathology at the University of California, Davis and at the University of Maryland.

In the late 1980s, while a graduate student researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California, Malone conducted studies on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology, discovering in what the scientific journal Nature has described as a landmark experiment that it was possible to transfer mRNA protected by a liposome into cultured cells to signal the information needed for the production of proteins.

In 1990, he contributed to a paper with Jon A. Wolff, Dennis A. Carson, and others, which first suggested the possibility of synthesizing mRNA in a laboratory to trigger the production of a desired protein. These studies are recognized as among the earliest steps towards mRNA vaccine development.

Starting in mid-2021, Malone received criticism for his take on the COVID-19 pandemic. On 30 December 2021, Malone claimed on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast that "mass formation psychosis" was developing in American society in its reaction to COVID-19. In a 1 April 2022 interview, Malone made the claim that COVID-19 vaccines are "damaging T cell responses" and "causing a form of AIDS."

Malone has spoken at anti-vaccine and anti-vaccine-mandate rallies, including a January 2022 rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and a March 2022 rally in Santa Barbara, California. As of April 2022, Malone has more than 134,000 subscribers on his Substack subscription newsletter. According to media research firm Zignal Labs, Malone has been mentioned more than 300,000 times on social media, cable television, and print or online news outlets.