To say that Robert Langer, Sc.D., is humble would be an understatement. He’s holds the David H. Koch Institute Professorship at MIT, and his achievements are tremendous. But you wouldn’t be able to tell that just by talking to him. He’s articulate, funny, and supportive, but stuck-up or self-important; that would be a no.

But he has so much to be stuck-up for.

His h-index score, a measure of the number of a scholar’s published papers and how often they have been cited, is 280—the highest of any engineer ever. He is one of only a handful of living individuals to have received both the U.S. National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and his laboratory has given rise to more than 30 companies, including Moderna, whom the FDA offered emergency use authorization for its vaccine against COVID-19 last Friday.

Dr. Langer is also a JDRF-funded researcher, developing ways that you can deliver insulin-producing beta cells without the need for immunosuppression. Find out from his video why being an investigator is both challenging and gratifying, and how JDRF is helping to advance his research:

JDRF’s funding enables promising scientists, like Bob, to focus their talent, ambition, and passion on improving life with T1D. Learn more about the researchers we fund, and learn how you can support their work to prevent, treat, and—one day—find cures for T1D.