**Katalin Karikó, the ‘Mother of mRNA Vaccines,’ Wins Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine**.
**Katalin Karikó**, a Hungarian-born biochemist, has been awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her groundbreaking work on mRNA vaccines. Her research has led to the development of life-saving vaccines for COVID-19 and other diseases..
Karikó’s journey to the Nobel Prize has been marked by perseverance and resilience. She was born in 1955 in Szentes, Hungary, and earned a degree in biology from the University of Szeged. After graduating, she worked as a research scientist at the Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences..
In the early 1990s, Karikó moved to the United States to continue her research. She joined the University of Pennsylvania as a research associate and began studying messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA is a molecule that carries genetic information from DNA to the ribosomes, where proteins are made..
Karikó’s work focused on developing a way to use mRNA to create vaccines. Traditional vaccines use weakened or inactivated viruses to stimulate the immune system. However, mRNA vaccines use synthetic mRNA to instruct the body’s cells to produce specific proteins, which can then trigger an immune response..
Karikó’s research faced many challenges. mRNA is a fragile molecule that can easily be degraded by the body’s enzymes. She spent years developing methods to protect mRNA from degradation and to deliver it to the right cells..
In 2005, Karikó and her colleague Drew Weissman made a breakthrough discovery. They found that adding a chemical modification to mRNA could make it more stable and less likely to trigger an immune response. This discovery paved the way for the development of mRNA vaccines..
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. Karikó’s research on mRNA vaccines became critical in the race to develop a vaccine against the virus. She worked with Moderna, a biotechnology company, to develop an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19..
The Moderna vaccine was one of the first mRNA vaccines to be approved for use. It has been shown to be highly effective in preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19. Karikó’s work has saved countless lives and helped to end the pandemic..
Karikó’s Nobel Prize is a testament to her groundbreaking research and its impact on global health. She is an inspiration to scientists and researchers around the world. Her work has laid the foundation for a new generation of vaccines that have the potential to prevent and treat a wide range of diseases..
