Nobel Prize Winners Dr. Katalin Karikó and Dr. Drew Weissman | The Story Behind mRNA Vaccines

This is the story of how Nobel Prize winning scientists Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman became mRNA vaccine pioneers, helped develop the first COVID vaccines, and are changing the future of medicine.

For years, Katalin Karikó, PhD and Drew Weissman, MD, PhD worked in their Penn Medicine lab, trying to figure out what made mRNA so inflammatory. They did experiment after experiment, examined the data, and refined their approach based on the results. Then in 2005, they discovered the solution they were searching for: By encapsulating the mRNA in a certain lipid, it prevented inflammation and allowed the fragile mRNA to go to work without interference.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it propelled Karikó and Weissman’s mRNA technology into the mainstream, where it became the foundation for two COVID vaccines. The critical discovery and success of the COVID vaccines kicked off a flurry of mRNA vaccine research, had has led to the development of vaccines for conditions like HIV, herpes, sickle cell anemia, influenza, peanut allergies, and even cancer.

Karikó and Weissman have received the world’s most prestigious awards for their discovery, including the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, the Breakthrough Prize and the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research.

Learn more about mRNA vaccine history and breakthroughs at Penn: https://www.pennmedicine.org/mrna

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