Karikó, Katalin (1955-…), is a Hungarian-born American biochemist. Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes that take place in all living things. Karikó is known for her work that led to the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. The vaccines proved highly effective in preventing infection, serious illness, and death. The 2023 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded to Karikó and the American scientist Drew Weissman in recognition of their work that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines.
COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. The virus was first discovered in 2019. In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic (worldwide outbreak of disease). Because COVID-19 was a new disease, there were no effective vaccines available to help prevent infection.
Karikó had been working with Weissman since 1997 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The two scientists investigated the use of RNA to develop treatments for disease. RNA stands for ribonucleic acid. RNA is a complex molecule in the cells of living things. One type of RNA, called messenger RNA or mRNA, carries the chemical instructions for making proteins inside a cell. In their research, Karikó and Weissman demonstrated that mRNA could be modified in ways that would instruct cells to make a specific protein or a portion of a protein. The body’s immune system then targets and attacks the new, unrecognized protein.
The breakthrough made it possible to quickly develop mRNA-based vaccines against the COVID-19 coronavirus. These vaccines use mRNA to instruct body cells to produce the same spikelike proteins found on the surface of the coronavirus. The body also generates immune system proteins, called antibodies, which target these spike proteins. The antibodies then attack and destroy any SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses that may infect a person who has received the vaccine, protecting against illness. The first mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines became widely available in 2021.
Karikó was born on Jan. 17, 1955, in Szolnok, Hungary. She studied biology and graduated from the University of Szeged in 1978. She earned a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry there in 1982. She immigrated to the United States in 1985. She joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania in 1989.
