- Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman shared the coveted Nobel Prize today
- The duo were credited with helping change the course of the Covid pandemic.
An American-born scientist and a Hungarian colleague received the Nobel Prize today for developing the technology that led to mRNA vaccines against Covid.
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman shared the coveted prize for their discoveries on ‘nucleoside base modifications’ that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against Covid.
The duo were credited with helping change the course of the Covid pandemic.
Katalin Karikó is a professor at Sagan University in Hungary and an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Drew Weissman conducted his award-winning research alongside Professor Karikó at the University of Pennsylvania.
The mRNA Covid vaccines, which have saved millions of lives during the pandemic, were thought to be the frontrunners after missing out on the prestigious award last year.
The same mRNA technology is currently being investigated for other diseases and even cancer.
Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Committee, announced this year’s winner at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
Previous winners in this field include a number of famous researchers, notably Alexander Fleming, who shared the 1945 prize for the discovery of penicillin.
The prizes include a cash prize of 11 million Swedish krona ($1 million).
The money comes from a legacy left by the prize’s creator, the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896.
Last year, the Medicine Prize went to Professor Svante Pääbo, who discovered that Neanderthals are still alive after demonstrating that interbreeding occurred between Homo Sapiens and our closest ancient relatives.
Nobel season continues this week with the announcement of the winners of the Physics Prize on Tuesday and the Chemistry Prize on Wednesday.
They will be followed by the long-awaited Literature awards on Thursday and Peace awards on Friday.
The Economics Prize will end on Monday, October 9.
