Katalin Karikó

Katalin Karikó is a Hungarian-American biochemist whose research on modified messenger RNA helped make mRNA vaccines practical.

Drew Weissman: Drew Weissman is an American physician-scientist whose research with Katalin Karikó helped establish modified mRNA as a vaccine platform. Their collaboration produced findings on nucleoside-modified RNA that underpinned later mRNA vaccines.
Messenger RNA: Messenger RNA is a molecule that carries genetic instructions from DNA to cellular machinery that makes proteins. Karikó's research focused on altering this short-lived carrier so cells could use it safely.
University of Szeged: The University of Szeged is a Hungarian public research university founded in 1872. Karikó earned her doctorate there before continuing RNA research in the United States.
COVID-19 vaccine: A COVID-19 vaccine is an immunization designed to protect against disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The first widely deployed mRNA vaccines used principles established by Karikó and Weissman's research.
Philip Felgner: Philip Felgner is an American biochemist known for developing lipid-based methods to deliver genetic material into cells. Lipid delivery approaches helped solve the separate challenge of getting therapeutic RNA into cells.
Nucleoside modification: Nucleoside modification is the chemical alteration of the building blocks found in RNA or DNA. Modified nucleosides reduced immune activation by synthetic RNA in Karikó and Weissman's experiments.
Temple University: Temple University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Karikó worked there after emigrating from Hungary, studying RNA-related biological processes.
BNT162b2: BNT162b2 is the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. It translated modified-mRNA research into a vaccine authorized for widespread use.
Robert Langer: Robert Langer is an American chemical engineer whose work advanced controlled drug delivery and biomaterials. His laboratory's work contributed to the lipid nanoparticle technologies used to deliver mRNA.
Pseudouridine: Pseudouridine is a naturally occurring RNA nucleoside isomer of uridine, also used in modified RNA medicines. Its incorporation into mRNA became a key strategy for improving translation and limiting inflammatory responses.

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COVID-19 pandemicRelated: Her foundational work contributed to the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.