Pioneer Women In Immunology: Katalin Karikó, PhD
“A vindication of the mRNA approach”
In 2021, mRNA is in the spotlight as the driving force of COVID-19 vaccines and on the cutting-edge of vaccine technology. This technology is a direct result of the life-long work of a leader in immunization: biochemist Katalin Karikó, PhD.
These days, Karikó is widely heralded as a visionary leader in science. She has received multiple awards, is listed on the Carnegie Corporation's "Great Immigrants" list, and is the subject of many news stories and articles praising her insight and commitment to scientific discovery. But this was not the story for the majority of her career.
For forty years, Karikó has worked to unlock the therapeutic potential of mRNA. For much of that time, she worked largely in obscurity, facing continual setbacks and obstacles. Her funding proposals were routinely rejected. She was demoted from her faculty position. Skepticism and disinterest were common responses to her work. Still, she continued to pursue the questions that have come to define her life's work: How can messenger RNA be used to teach the body to fight disease?
Exploring Possible Applications of mRNA
mRNA is a single-stranded genetic code that "instructs" cells to create certain proteins. It is the messenger that takes the information from DNA and enables it to be used in the process of protein synthesis. It's how the information in your DNA actually gets used by the body.
Karikó began working on mRNA as a student in her native Hungary in 1978. In 1985, after her position at the Biological Research Centre in Szeged stopped being funded, she moved to the United States with her husband and daughter, along with about $1200 hidden inside a teddy bear.
As a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, Karikó continued to explore mRNA, particularly how it could be used therapeutically. "I imagined all of the diseases I could treat," she said.
While Karikó hypothesized that synthesized mRNA code could be injected into the body and teach it to fight disease more effectively, she faced a major issue: mRNA caused a potentially fatal inflammatory reaction upon injection. In 2004, Karikó and collaborator Drew Weissman overcame this barrier by using an altered nucleoside in the mRNA, which did not produce the same reaction. They published their findings in 2005, laying the groundwork for mRNA vaccines.
A “Vindication of the mRNA Approach”
After leaving the University of Pennsylvania, Karikó continued to pursue her questions about the therapeutic uses of mRNA as a senior vice president of BioNTech, where she led the mRNA-based protein replacement program.
The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines rely on the technology developed by Karikó and Weissman. Called a “vindication of the mRNA approach” these vaccines are just the beginning of the potential for this technology. A technology we simply wouldn't have without the dedication and leadership of Katalin Karikó.
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