C. Mellow was born to James and Sally Mello. He was the third child of the family. As a child, Mello was very affected by the work of his philanthropist father. He worked as the associate director of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC and his mother was an artist. C. Mello held the curiosity in the living beings from a very young age. He spent his childhood in Northern Virginia.

The curiosity that rose from his young mind made him question the about the world around. He was extremely fascinated by the concept of evolution. According to his biography, after that, he went to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island to educate himself in biochemistry and molecular biology and received a B.S. degree in 1982.

He then joined the University of Colorado at Boulder to study biology. He met American molecular biologist David Hirsh and started to work with him. While the scientist was working in Harish lab, he came across American molecular biologist Dan Stinchcomb. Mello moved with Dan Stinchcomb to the Harvard University where he did his research on C.elegans.

C. Mello married Margaret Hunter in the year 1992. They even have a child named Melissa. Their married life was not successful, and he divorced his first wife in 1994. Later in the year 1998, he tried the bond of marriage again with Edit Kiss. He even adopted David and Sarah becoming his stepfather. He has a daughter, Victoria with his second wife was born in 2000.

After that in the year 1994, he joined University of Massachusetts Medical School. While working in Seattle, his interests grew in RNA injection to silence genes. By using this technique, he could identify the functions of the genes. During his research, he came to know that the genes that were injected also transmitted the silencing effect to their offspring. This mechanism RNAi was discovered by the joint effort of both science, and it can defend against viral infection.

This discovery in biology helped the scientists with a research tool to block the genes to reveal their basic function and to study the part of genes in the diseases. The discovery helped in the study of the diseases like AIDS, cancer, and Hepatitis.

C. Mello's contribution in science got him awarded with the title of Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. The biologist's net worth is not revealed in the media. He has received many awards and honors for his contribution in the field of science.