Katalin Kariko Inspiration

Glorious moment after more than 40 years of waiting

In fact, it is a moment that scientists have been predicting since messenger RNA (mRNA) technology was applied by Pfizer and BioNTech to mass-produce vaccines, helping humanity overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. And what is more remarkable is that the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is the result of decades of tireless research and unwavering perseverance by Ms. Kariko and her colleague Drew Weissman on a technology that was once ignored by the world.

Therefore, it is not too much to say that the achievements of Ms. Kariko and Professor Weissman are somewhat reminiscent of the great astronomer Galileo Galilei when he discovered and absolutely believed in the Heliocentric Theory and that the Earth is a sphere, despite the notion of humanity at that time - especially the Catholic Church - that the Earth is flat and the center of all things.

Therefore, the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Kariko and Weissman once again reinforces that faith and the scientific spirit are always the foundation for making great discoveries of mankind, regardless of time, difficulty and whether it is recognized by everyone or not.

Ms. Katalin Kariko (left) and Professor Drew Weissman won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Photo: Reuters

It can be said that if the COVID pandemic had not appeared at the end of 2019, mRNA technology would still be honored one day in human history. Because it has timeless value and is necessary for humanity. As we know, mRNA not only has the meaning of creating a COVID vaccine soon, but also helps the medical community find new approaches to treat incurable diseases, including cancer and HIV.

“I never doubted that it would work,” Kariko herself admitted. “I saw the data from animal studies and I expected it. I always wished I could live long enough to see what I was doing accepted.”

Scientific spirit and perseverance

Looking back, Kariko’s lifelong dedication to science is truly admirable. She began working with mRNA upon graduating from university in Hungary in 1978, a mission she would continue to pursue for the next 40 years.

By 1985, the lab where Kariko worked was no longer receiving funding and was forced to close. Quickly and decisively, she sought opportunities in the United States. Her family sold their car to buy a one-way ticket to the United States as a sign of absolute dedication to science.

Kariko worked at Temple University in Philadelphia for her first three years in the United States. She read scientific papers until the library closed at 11 p.m., then stayed at a friend’s apartment or simply spread out a sleeping bag on the office floor. At 6 a.m., she continued her experiments and went for a run.

In 1989, Kariko took a job at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She then collaborated with cardiologist Elliot Barnathan. They realized that mRNA could trigger cells to secrete a desired protein, allowing them to learn to fight diseases and viruses, much like training a pet or an AI robot.

Kariko is obsessed with mRNA, and colleagues say she never gets upset when she fails. “ Experiments never go wrong, but your expectations do,” she often quotes Leonardo da Vinci.

But the turning point came in the late 1990s, when Kariko met immunologist Drew Weissman, who was looking to create an HIV vaccine and was looking at different technologies. She introduced him to messenger RNA and then offered to make mRNA for his experiments. “I make RNA, that’s what I do. I’m really good at it,” she confidently told the immunologist.

However, when Weissman tested it, he found that Kariko’s mRNA also triggered an inflammatory response—a quick failure. But eventually, the scientists’ tireless efforts paid off. Kariko and Weissman succeeded in blocking mRNA from activating the immune system. They published their findings and were granted a patent in 2005.

Kariko's career has inspired books as well as real life. Photo: Cover of a book about Kariko.

Never give up

However, Kariko’s success with mRNA was small and short-lived. In 2013, she retired from the University of Pennsylvania without any title. Her career seemed unsuccessful and her life’s work on mRNA was also obscure. She was still an unknown scientist at that time.

But Kariko refused to give up. She wanted to continue her research and put mRNA to practical use. So she joined BioNTech in Germany, then a little-known startup that had never even created an approved medical product. She spent 10 months a year in Germany living and working.

She recalled her difficult decision at that time: “I could have sat in my backyard and just watched the grass grow. But no, I decided to go to Germany, join a biotech company without a website, leaving my husband and family behind. What the hell was I doing? I cried every night for a week and couldn’t sleep.”

For months during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kariko would repeatedly ask her daughter the same cryptic question: “Watch the news today. And tomorrow, as soon as you wake up, Google the keyword BioNTech.” Her daughter Susan, then a famous skier and Olympic gold medalist, recalled: “Then one day, she hurriedly hung up on me after a phone call and said: ‘I have to go now, goodbye!’” That was when the moment she had been waiting for 40 years arrived. mRNA technology had been successfully applied to make a COVID-19 vaccine.

So, Kariko has spent her entire career waiting for a great moment and it has come sooner than she expected. And it can be affirmed that her journey to winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 is a great inspiration for the whole world , as well as a reminder: Never despair and be optimistic about the future!

Huy Hoang

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nguon-cam-hung-katalin-kariko-post282084.html