Nobel endorses mRNA breakthrough in vaccines used to fight Covid-19 pandemic
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The mRNA vaccines that were launched in the middle of the and unprecedented and terrifying covid-19 pandemic gave a shot of fame to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman. On Monday, the two scientists were jointly awarded the the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet recognised their pioneering work in nucleoside base modifications that led to the discovery of mRNA vaccines.
The Nobel prize committee said: Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times.
for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
www.nobelprize.org
I her telephonic interview with Adam Smith on behalf of the Nobel Prize, Katalin Karikó spoke of the time she was removed from her job in expressing her surprise over the coveted recognition. “About 10 years ago, I was here in October because I was kicked out, from Penn, (I) was forced to retire,” she said.
Katalin who lives in Philadelphia said her husband and mother held her back when she was the lowest point in her life. You know, when (I) finally visited in Germany and found that maybe BioNTech is the right place, then he said, “Just try it and I will make sure that you don’t regret.” She said she commuted to BioNTech in Germany for 9 years. “I did all these experiments actually, with my own hands, I was 58 years old,” she told the Nobel Prize representative.
Drew Weissman, her partner in the breakthrough work on mRNA said they have been working together when no one knew or heard of mRNA. He told the Nobel that both the ignited minds have sleep disturbances. “So, usually around 3 to 5am we would be emailing each other with new ideas.” For Weissman Katalin, science was always inevitably the talking point. On Tuesday, their talks that translated into discoveries finally culminated in the highest and the most respected recognition for someone’s work.
As Weissman puts it: It is the ultimate recognition of work. It is a wonderful experience.
