- Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman shared the coveted Nobel Prize today
- The duo were credited with helping change the course of the Covid pandemic
A US-born scientist and Hungarian colleague were awarded the Nobel Prize today for developing the technology that led to the mRNA Covid vaccines.
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman shared the coveted award for their discoveries on ‘nucleoside base modifications’ that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against Covid.
The duo were credited with helping change the course of the Covid pandemic.
Katalin Karikó is a professor at Sagan University in Hungary and an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Drew Weissman conducted his award-winning research with Professor Karikó at the University of Pennsylvania.
The duo’s “groundbreaking findings” have “fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system,” the panel presenting the prize said this morning.
The laureates contributed to the “unprecedented speed of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times,” she added.
Gunilla Karlsson Hedestam, part of the panel that chose the winners, said of their work that “it was very important in terms of saving lives, especially in the early phase of the pandemic.”
mRNA Covid vaccines, which have saved millions of lives during the pandemic, were thought to be the front runners after missing out on the prestigious prize last year.
The same mRNA technology is now being investigated for other diseases and even cancer.
During the Covid pandemic, the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines were both based on mRNA technology.
Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Committee, announced this year’s winner at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
He told the ceremony that both scientists were “overwhelmed” by news of the prize when he contacted them shortly before the announcement.
“This year’s Nobel Prize recognizes their fundamental scientific discovery that has fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with the immune system and has had a major impact on society during the recent pandemic,” said Rickard Sandberg, member of the Nobel Assembly Karolinska Institute. said.
Previous winners in this field include a series of famous researchers, most notably Alexander Fleming, who shared the prize for the discovery of penicillin in 1945.
The prizes carry a cash prize of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million).
The money comes from a legacy from the prize’s creator, the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896.
Last year the Medicine Prize went to Professor Svante Pääbo, who discovered that Neanderthals are still alive after proving that there was interbreeding between Homo Sapiens and our closest relatives.
Neanderthal DNA provided important insights into our immune system, including our vulnerability to severe Covid.
The award was the second in the family. Paabo’s father, Sune Bergstrom, won the 1982 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
The Nobel season continues this week with the announcement of the winners of the Physics Prize on Tuesday and the Chemistry Prize on Wednesday.
This will be followed by the long-awaited prizes for Literature on Thursday and Peace on Friday.
The Economics Prize will wrap things up on Monday, October 9.