- By Halimah Olamide
A university scholar and researcher who was once demoted by her university, Katalin Karikó and another scholar Drew Weissman have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize.
The award is in the category for in Physiology or Medicine which they jointly won for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
She was born 17 January 1955 and a Hungarian-American biochemist who specializes in RNA-mediated mechanisms, particularly in vitro–transcribed mRNA for protein therapies. Karikó laid the scientific groundwork for mRNA vaccines against major obstacles and scepticism in the scientific community, according to Wikipedia.
Billy Penny Com Reported that coronavirus vaccines wouldn’t be possible without advancements developed at the University of Pennsylvania, which has been touting its contribution in news releases and TV ads. But it turns out the school wasn’t very supportive of the scientist who led the charge.
“Former Penn researcher Dr. Katalin Karikó’s dedication to the promise of using messenger RNA (mRNA) in medicine paved the way for the vaccines now giving society hope.
“As Karikó worked for decades toward adapting mRNA to bring out its therapeutic qualities, her efforts were repeatedly dismissed by the university, she has said. When she was unable to find funding, Penn demoted her, taking her off the track to full professorship,” the publication had reported
Details later…