Study Abroad: Pioneers of Pennsylvania University Bag the Nobel Prize

This year the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Dr Drew Weissman. These two pioneers of medicine are the ones to save the world from a deadly pandemic and restore to us what we call a ‘normal life’. It is time that the world talks about the two scientists, know who they are and learn about their achievements. 

Dr Katalin Karikó and Dr Drew Weissman

Katalin Karikó is a senior vice president at BioNTech and is also a part-time professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania, United States. She has dedicated her lifework to research and technology, won many awards for it and also became a part of various relevant documentaries like Conquering Covid and The Messenger: A Story of mRNA, and has also appeared in many podcasts and series like The Daily.  

Dr. Drew Weissman is renowned for his research as a physician. He is a researcher at Penn Medicine and also a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine for vaccine research. Both these researchers have a history of working together in the 1990s and 2000s at the University of Pennsylvania. 

The mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine

The scientists used the property of base modifications in mRNA to create the medicine. For this, the researchers altered RNA nucleotides which in turn changed the way cells perceive it. This increased the vaccine protein as well as its potency and efficiency. 

To create the bulk vaccine the researchers collaborated with Pfizer. This research around the use of mRNA was conducted years before by the researchers. They also released the research papers on the mRNA technology but that didn’t gain much importance then. 

The use of mRNA however proved to be a groundbreaking discovery in 2020 when the world was praying for a way out of the pandemic. If you want to read more such exciting information, make sure you follow Leverage Edu News Updates.