Nobel Prize 2023 in Medicine: Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman win Nobel for mRNA vaccine breakthroughs against COVID-19.
The official statement said the transformative impact of the Nobel Laureates' findings on how mRNA interacts with the immune system, led to the unprecedented pace of vaccine development during one of the most significant health crises in recent history.
Vaccination triggers the formation of an immune response against specific pathogens, providing the body with a crucial defence mechanism in the face of future exposure.
Who is Katalin Karikó?
Katalin Karikó, born in 1955 in Szolnok, Hungary, earned her PhD from Szeged University in 1982. She conducted postdoctoral research at institutions including the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Temple University in Philadelphia, and the University of Health Science in Bethesda.
In 1989, she became an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, later assuming leadership roles at BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals.
Since 2021, she has held the position of Professor at Szeged University and Adjunct Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Who is Drew Weissman?
Drew Weissman, born in 1959 in Lexington, Massachusetts, USA, obtained his MD and PhD degrees from Boston University in 1987. He underwent clinical training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School and completed postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health.
In 1997, Weissman established his research group at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where he currently serves as the Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research and the Director of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovations.
What are Nobel Prizes?
These annual Nobel Prizes, spanning physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace, originate from the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish dynamite inventor who passed away in 1896. In 1968, Sweden's central bank introduced the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The Nobel laureates for these esteemed awards are unveiled in Stockholm throughout October, with the exception of the Peace Prize, which is determined by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.
Source: Hindustan Times, 02/10/23
