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Katalin Karikó becomes fifth woman to receive Nobel Prize after winning L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award
A year after being awarded the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Award for her groundbreaking discovery of a non-inflammatory type of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) which contributed to the rapid development of the first COVID-19 vaccine, Professor Katalin Karikó has been awarded the Nobel Prize for the same achievement, along with her longstanding colleague Professor Drew Weissman from the University of Pennsylvania in the USA. A day after the announcement of Professor Karikó’s win, another laureate of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Award, Professor Anne L’Huillier, received the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Today I warmly congratulate Prof. Katlin Kariko and Prof. Anne L’Huillier on their Nobel Prize wins, which recognize their tireless work, talent and exceptional dedication to scientific research that benefits all of humanity. I am delighted to see that, once again, past laureates of the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards have been gone on to win the world’s highest scientific honor. This highlights the major role of women in scientific research, a role that we must further promote and enhance, as currently only one-third of scientists are women.
The discoveries by the two Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system. This has contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during the COVID 19 pandemic, one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times. Their research has also paved the way to future therapies for complex diseases such as cancer, heart failure, stroke, anaemia and autoimmune diseases.
As one of the five laureates in 2022 of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Award, Prof Karikó is a strong advocate for female researchers around the world and across disciplines. ‘Women scientists have great vision, they are bold and practical, while also passionate and empathetic’, she says. ‘They have a no-nonsense attitude and are good problem-solvers, great team players’.
It is not the first time that the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Award has been an antechamber of the Nobel Prize. Prior to Professor Karikó, four other L’Oréal-UNESCO laureates had gone on to receive the Nobel Prize in their field of expertise: Elizabeth Blackburn and Ada Yonath in 2009 and Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna in 2020. This number rose to six this year with the award of the Nobel Prize to Anne L’Huillier on 3 October. For her part, L’Oréal-UNESCO laureate Christine Nusslein-Volhard was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1995, three years before the creation of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Award.
Professor Karikó's scientific career began in her native Hungary. She moved to the United States of America in 1985 where she took up a position at Temple University in Pennsylvania. Five years later, she moved to the University of Pennsylvania, where she submitted a request for funding to study the use of RNA messengers for genetic therapy.
In 2013, Katlin Karikó took up the position of Senior Vice-President of RNA Therapeutics at BioNTech, a German company. Here, she continued to research and develop mRNA-based vaccines, including the first mRNA vaccine against Covid-19.
Biochemistry can explain most of the phenomena in our bodies, yet there is still so much to discover. We need the next generation of scientists to join us so that we can continue to discover therapies to treat serious illnesses with unmet medical needs. This starts with unravelling the molecular mechanism of these diseases, which is critical to finding cures for all those who are suffering today.
Today, Professor Karikó remains convinced of the need for more funding to create the enabling conditions for other revolutionary discoveries and for senior scientists to be permitted to apply their time and energy to exploring unconventional ideas and breaking new ground.
Biochemistry can explain most of the phenomena in our bodies, yet there is still so much to discover. We need the next generation of scientists to join us so we can continue to discover therapies to treat serious illnesses with unmet medical needs. This starts with unravelling the molecular mechanism of these diseases, which is critical to finding cures for all those who are suffering today.
Today, Professor Karikó remains convinced of the need for more funding to create the enabling conditions for other revolutionary discoveries and for senior scientists to be permitted to apply their time and energy to exploring unconventional ideas and breaking new ground.
