Nobel in medicine goes to 2 scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Mon Oct 2, 2023, 09:22 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: AP

Updated 8:28 AM EDT, October 2, 2023


STOCKHOLM (AP) — Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 and that could be used to develop other shots in the future.

Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman were cited for contributing “to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times,” according to the panel that awarded the prize in Stockholm.

WHAT IS THE NOBEL FOR?

The panel said the pair’s “groundbreaking findings ... fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system.”

Traditionally, making vaccines required growing viruses or pieces of viruses and then purifying them before next steps in brewing shots. The the messenger RNA approach starts with a snippet of genetic code that carries instructions for making proteins. Pick the right virus protein to target, and the body turns into a mini vaccine factory.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/nobel-prize-medicine-71306bd18785477f3a85a69caa6e09c9

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The 2023 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Karik and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
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5:45 AM · Oct 2, 2023

Article updated.

Previous articles -

Updated 6:10 AM EDT, October 2, 2023


STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries that enabled the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

The award was given to Katalin Karik, a professor at Sagan's University in Hungary and an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Drew Weissman, who performed his prizewinning research together with Karik at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times," the panel that awarded the prize said.

Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Assembly, announced the prize and said both scientists were "overwhelmed" by news of the prize when he contacted them shortly before the announcement.

Updated 6:07 AM EDT, October 2, 2023


STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

The award was given to Katalin Karik, a professor at Sagan's University in Hungary and an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Drew Weissman, who performed his prizewinning research together with Karik at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times," the panel that awarded the prize said.

Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Assembly, announced the prize and said both scientists were "overwhelmed" by news of the prize when he contacted them shortly before the announcement.

Original article/headline -

Katalin Karik and Drew Weissman win Nobel in medicine for enabling development of mRNA vaccines

Updated 5:57 AM EDT, October 2, 2023


STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

Katalin Karik is a professor at Sagan's University in Hungary and an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Drew Weissman performed his prizewinning research together with Karik at the University of Pennsylvania.

Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Assembly, announced the award Monday in Stockholm.

The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was won last year by Swedish scientist Svante Paabo for discoveries in human evolution that unlocked secrets of Neanderthal DNA which provided key insights into our immune system, including our vulnerability to severe COVID-19.

[hlthe2b]

1. With all the anti-vaxx, COVID-denying idiots out there, this brings me great appreciation...

Good on the NOBEL committee.

[COL Mustard]

9. I'm sure over on FR the anti-vaxxers

Are talking about how the whole thing is just a hoax. Take your ivermectin and shut up!

And all of that.

[area51]

11. +1 n/t

[PCIntern]

2. This is a big fucking deal here in Philly

There were some terrific articles a couple years ago about how the fellow scientists at Penn used to ridicule this team because they were working on a project which they felt seemingly had no merit. Well, the joke’s on the coworkers, isn’t it?

[BumRushDaShow]

5. I remember reading an article in the Inky about them

They had been working on it for some time when SARS CoV-1 appeared almost 20 years ago.

Penn has a good write-up this morning to highlight the news - https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/katalin-kariko-and-drew-weissman-penns-historic-mrna-vaccine-research-team-win-2023-nobel

[PCIntern]

8. I bet they do.

I think the last Nobel Laureates at Penn were in 1985 when I was teaching there.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. NYT had a good one too

The sad one was this -

Philly scientist behind COVID vaccine tech was demoted by UPenn, yet she persisted

by Michaela Winberg December 29, 2020


The coronavirus vaccines wouldn’t be possible without advancements developed at the University of Pennsylvania, which has been touting its contribution in news releases and TV ads. But it turns out the school wasn’t very supportive of the scientist who led the charge. Former Penn researcher Dr. Katalin Karikó’s dedication to the promise of using messenger RNA (mRNA) in medicine paved the way for the vaccines now giving society hope.

As Karikó worked for decades toward adapting mRNA to bring out its therapeutic qualities, her efforts were repeatedly dismissed by the university, she has said. When she was unable to find funding, Penn demoted her, taking her off the track to full professorship. “Usually, at that point, people just say goodbye and leave because it’s so horrible,” Karikó, known as Kati, told Stat News in November.

The breakthrough finally came in 2005, after Karikó found a colleague whose passion for the topic mirrored hers in Dr. Drew Weissman. Now 65, she’s a VP at a biotech firm. Both she and Weissman, a professor at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, were quoted in a recent release from the university.

“I feel humbled, and happy,” says Karikó in the release, referred to as an adjunct professor. “I am more [of] a basic scientist, but I always wanted to do something to help patients.”. Penn officials declined to comment on their relationship with Karikó, previous or current. “We are unable to discuss specifics about faculty or staff employment matters,” spokesperson Stephen Maccarthy told Billy Penn.

(snip)

https://billypenn.com/2020/12/29/university-pennsylvania-covid-vaccine-mrna-kariko-demoted-biontech-pfizer/

[PCIntern]

15. Typical at Penn...

Where you have to have a Ph.D. in managing UP, not down. Take it from me, I know

[BumRushDaShow]

17. And Penn holds patents on some of this stuff too

and has been cashing in.

[harun]

19. "Ph.D. in managing UP, not down"

Is there anywhere that doesn't operate this way?

[Lonestarblue]

10. Good article, and it mentions that Dr. Kariko is only the 61st woman to be awarded a Nobel

Laureate. The wold would be a much worse place without people like her and her fellow researchers.

[ShazzieB]

3. This is great!

I can see the heads of anti-vaxxers exploding right and left when they hear about this!

[electric_blue68]

7. 😄 No kidding!

[NNadir]

4. Well deserved! She went through academic hell to push her findings.

Denial of tenure, demotions, etc...

"Adjunct" indeed!

Institutions all over the world will be pushing to have her on their faculty as a full professor.

[electric_blue68]

6. OK! Most of us say "Thank You" for your work!

[dalton99a]

12. Kick

[mopinko]

13. unusually fast for nobel. but then, science moves fast these days.

a friend of mine’s dad won a nobel for work he’d done almost 30 yrs earlier. iirc it had to do w xray chromatography.
it’s used to take that long for research to prove it’s worth.
the world moves a lot faster these days, i guess.

eta-https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1984/summary/
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1984 was awarded to Robert Bruce Merrifield "for his development of methodology for chemical synthesis on a solid matrix"

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Not really - they (as a pair) had been working on mRNA for almost 20 years

(since the big SARS CoV-1 and MERS outbreaks) but Karikó had started working on ways to use mRNA since back in the late-80s.

[usaf-vet]

18. So does this mean COVID was and is real. It certianly can't mean The Noble Committee is DUMB and....

.... doesn't have a clue about who should be awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

No, what it does mean is Trump has been lying about Covid and has led an untold number of Americans to early deaths.

The world will remember that real scientists saw a real disease and worked to develop a pathway to saving lives.

If for no other reason, Trump deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison.

For purposely lying to the American people, thus causing our family, friends, and neighbors to die an unnecessary death.