Katalin Karikó ( hu, Karikó Katalin, ; born 17 January 1955) is a Hungarian-American biochemist who specializes in RNA-mediated mechanisms. Her research has been the development of

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called " test-tube experiments", these studies in biology ...

- transcribed

mRNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the ...

for protein therapies. She co-founded and was CEO of RNARx, from 2006 to 2013. Since 2013, she has been associated with

BioNTech BioNTech SE ( ; or short for Biopharmaceutical New Technologies) is a German biotechnology company based in Mainz that develops and manufactures active immunotherapies for patient-specific approaches to the treatment of diseases. It develop ...

RNA Pharmaceuticals, first as a vice president and promoted to senior vice president in 2019. She also is an adjunct professor at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. Karikó's work includes the scientific research of RNA-mediated immune activation, resulting in the co-discovery with American immunologist Drew Weissman of the nucleoside modifications that suppress the

immunogenicity Immunogenicity is the ability of a foreign substance, such as an antigen, to provoke an immune response in the body of a human or other animal. It may be wanted or unwanted: * Wanted immunogenicity typically relates to vaccines, where the injectio ...

of RNA. This is seen as further contribution to the therapeutic use of mRNA. Together with Weissman, she holds U.S. patents for the application of non-immunogenic, nucleoside-modified RNA. This technology has been licensed by

and

Moderna Moderna, Inc. ( ) is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to pro ...

to develop their protein replacement technologies but was also used for their COVID-19 vaccines. Karikó and Weissman have received many awards, including the prestigious

Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award is one of four annual awards presented by the Lasker Foundation. The Lasker-DeBakey award is given to honor outstanding work for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of diseas ...

, Time Magazine's Hero of the Year 2021 and

Tang Prize The Tang Prize () is a set of biannual international awards bestowed in four fields: Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law. Nomination and selection are conducted by an independent selection committee, whic ...

Award in Biopharmaceutical Science in 2022.

Early life and education

Karikó grew up in

Kisújszállás Kisújszállás is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population of 12,869 people (2002). Politics The current mayor of Kisújszállás is ...

, Hungary, in a small home without running water, a refrigerator, or television. Her father was a butcher and her mother was a bookkeeper. The family were members of the

Reformed Church in Hungary The Reformed Church in Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Református Egyház, MRE) is the largest Protestant church in Hungary, with parishes among the Hungarian diaspora abroad. Today, it is made up of 1,249 congregations in 27 presbyteries and fou ...

. She excelled in science during her primary education, earning third place in the country in a biology competition. She attended Móricz Zsigmond Református Gimnázium, a Protestant school. After earning her Ph.D. at the

University of Szeged , mottoeng = Truth. Bravery. Freedom. , established = , type = Public research university , founder = Emperor Franz Joseph I , affiliation = European University Association, Science Without Borders, Confucius Institute , budget = US$220 m ...

, Karikó continued her research and postdoctoral studies at the Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre of Hungary. In 1985, the lab lost its funding, and she left Hungary for the United States with her husband and 2-year daughter. When immigrating to the US, they smuggled in £900 in a teddy bear, money that they had received from selling their car on the black market.

Career

Between 1985 and 1988, while serving as postdoctoral fellow at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

in Philadelphia and

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps as ...

in Bethesda, MD, (88-89) Karikó participated in a clinical trial in which patients with AIDS,

hematologic disease Hematologic diseases are disorders which primarily affect the blood & blood-forming organs. Hematologic diseases include rare genetic disorders, anemia, HIV, sickle cell disease & complications from chemotherapy or transfusions. Myeloid * Hemog ...

s, and chronic fatigue syndrome were treated with double stranded RNA (dsRNA). At the time, this was considered groundbreaking research, as the molecular mechanism of interferon induction by dsRNA was not known, although the antiviral and antineoplastic effects of interferon were well documented. In 1989, she was hired by the University of Pennsylvania and worked with cardiologist Elliot Barnathan on Messenger RNA (mRNA). In 1990, while an adjunct professor at th
University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine
Karikó submitted her first grant application in which she proposed to establish mRNA-based

gene therapy Gene therapy is a medical field which focuses on the genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. The first attempt at modifying human DN ...

. Ever since, mRNA-based therapy has been Karikó's primary research interest. She was on track to become full professor, but grant rejections led to her being demoted by the university in 1995. She stayed on and in 1997, she met Drew Weissman, professor of immunology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her persistence was noted as exceptional against the norms of academic research work conditions. Karikó's key insight came about after she focused on why transfer RNA used as a

control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

in an experiment did not provoke the same immune reaction as messenger RNA. Their key finding of a chemical modification of mRNA to render it non-immunogenic was rejected by the journals Nature and Science, but eventually accepted by the niche publication "Immunity". In a series of articles beginning in 2005, Karikó and Weissman described how specific nucleoside modifications in mRNA led to a reduced immune response. They founded a small company and, in 2006 and 2013, received patents for the use of several modified nucleosides to reduce the antiviral immune response to mRNA. Soon afterward, the university sold the intellectual property license to Gary Dahl, the head of a lab supply company that eventually became Cellscript. Weeks later, Flagship Pioneering, the

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

company backing Moderna, contacted her to license the patent. All Karikó said was "we don't have it". In 2006, Katalin Karikó reached out to biochemist Ian MacLachlan to work with him on the chemically altered mRNA. Initially, MacLachlan and Tekmira turned away from the collaboration. Karikó wanted to team up with Ian MacLachlan because of MacLaughn was the leader of a team that helped advance mRNA technology. Karikó was working on establishing the formulated lipid nanoparticle delivery system that encapsulates mRNA in a dense particle through a mixing process. In early 2013, Karikó heard of Moderna's $240 million deal with

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...

to develop a

Vascular endothelial growth factor Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, ), originally known as vascular permeability factor (VPF), is a signal protein produced by many cells that stimulates the formation of blood vessels. To be specific, VEGF is a sub-family of growth factors, ...

mRNA. Karikó realized that she would not get a chance to apply her experience with mRNA at the University of Pennsylvania, so she took a role as vice president at

RNA Pharmaceuticals (and subsequently became a senior vice president in 2019). Her research and specializations include messenger RNA-based

, RNA-induced immune reactions, molecular bases of

ischemic Ischemia or ischaemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ of the body, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive). Ischemia is generally caused by problems w ...

tolerance, and treatment of

brain ischemia Brain ischemia is a condition in which there is insufficient bloodflow to the brain to meet metabolic demand. This leads to poor oxygen supply or cerebral hypoxia and thus leads to the death of brain tissue or cerebral infarction/ ischemic stroke ...

Scientific contributions

The work and research of Karikó was a foundation for BioNTech and Moderna to create therapeutic mRNAs that do not induce an immune response. In 2020, the Karikó and Weissman technology was however also used within vaccines for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

that were produced by Pfizer (developed by BioNTech) and by Moderna.

Patents

US8278036B2 & US8748089B2 – This invention provides RNA, oligoribonucleotide, and polyribonucleotide molecules comprising

pseudouridine Pseudouridine (abbreviated by the Greek letter psi- Ψ) is an isomer of the nucleoside uridine in which the uracil is attached via a carbon-carbon instead of a nitrogen-carbon glycosidic bond. (In this configuration, uracil is sometimes referred ...

or a modified nucleoside, gene therapy vectors comprising same, methods of synthesizing same, and methods for gene replacement, gene therapy, gene transcription silencing, and the delivery of therapeutic proteins to tissue in vivo, comprising the molecules. The present invention also provides methods of reducing the immunogenicity of RNA, oligoribonucleotide, and polyribonucleotide molecules.

Awards and honors

1975 – 2009

*1975 – 1978: Népköztársasági ösztöndíj *2009:

városának Tiszteletbeli Polgára

2020

*2020: Kisújszállás díszpolgára * 2020: Public Media Person Of The Year Award * 2020:

Rosenstiel Award The Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research is awarded by Brandeis University. It was established in 1971 "as an expression of the conviction that educational institutions have an important role to play in the en ...

2021

*2021: American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award presented by Awards Council member

Frances Arnold Frances Hamilton Arnold (born July 25, 1956) is an American chemical engineer and Nobel Laureate. She is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). In ...

*2021:

Albany Medical Center Prize The Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research is the United States' second highest value prize in medicine and biomedical research, awarded by the Albany Medical Center. Among prizes for medicine worldwide, the Albany Medical ...

*2021: Bill Foege Award *2021: Bolyai Prize *2021: Building the Foundation Award *2021: Fodor József Plaque *2021: For Human Dignity Award *2021: Forbes No. 1 (entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, creators; 50+) *2021:

Golden Goose Award The Golden Goose Award is a United States award in recognition of scientists whose federally funded basic research has led to innovations or inventions with significant impact on humanity or society. Created by Congressman Jim Cooper of Tennessee ...

*2021:

Grande Médaille The Grande Médaille of the French Academy of Sciences, established in 1997, is awarded annually to a researcher who has contributed decisively to the development of science. It is the most prestigious of the Academy's awards, and is awarded in a ...

*2021: Hawking Lecture Cambridge *2021: Honorary Citizen of

Csongrád-Csanád county Csongrád-Csanád ( hu, Csongrád-Csanád megye ) is the name of an administrative county (comitatus or ''megye'') in southern Hungary, straddling the river Tisza, on the border with Serbia and Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian count ...

*2021: Honorary Citizen of

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...

*2021: Honorary Doctor of Duke University *2021: Honorary Doctor of

*2021: Hungarian Spirit Award *2021: Janssen Award *2021: Jedlik Ányos Award *2021:

John Scott Medal John Scott Award, created in 1816 as the John Scott Legacy Medal and Premium, is presented to men and women whose inventions improved the "comfort, welfare, and happiness of human kind" in a significant way. "...the John Scott Medal Fund, establish ...

*2021: Keio Prize *2021:

*2021:

Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry is an annual prize awarded by Columbia University to a researcher or group of researchers who have made an outstanding contribution in basic research in the fields of biology or biochemist ...

*2021:

National Inventors Hall of Fame The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of significant technology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also oper ...

*2021:

New York Academy of Medicine The New York Academy of Medicine (the Academy) is a health policy and advocacy organization founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health ...

*2021: Novo Nordisk Prize *2021:

Prince Mahidol Award The Prince Mahidol Award ( th, รางวัลสมเด็จเจ้าฟ้ามหิดล) is an annual award for outstanding achievements in medicine and public health worldwide. The award is given by the Prince Mahidol Award Found ...

in the field of "Medicine" *2021:

Princess of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

in the category "Scientific Research" *2021: Princess

Marina Sturdza Marina Nicole Sturdza (25 April 1944 – 24 October 2017) was a Romanian princess and humanitarian activist. Early life Marina Nicole Sturdza was born a princess in Romania on 25 April 1944, in Brasov, Transylvania. Both of her parents came fr ...

Award *2021: Reichstein Medal *2021: Research!America 2021 Outstanding Achievement in Public Health Awards *2021: Semmelweis Prize *2021: Straub Plaque *2021:

Széchenyi Prize The Széchenyi Prize ( hu, Széchenyi-díj), named after István Széchenyi, is a prize given in Hungary by the state, replacing the former State Prize in 1990 in recognition of those who have made an outstanding contribution to academic life in Hu ...

*2021: Theodor Boveri Award *2021:

Time 100 ''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, ...

*2021: Time Hero of the Year 2021. According to the magazine's praise, in their research, Katalin Karikó, Kizzmekia Corbett, Barney Graham és Drew Weissman 'channeled their ambitions to the common good, talked to one another and trusted in facts'. *2021:

Wilhelm Exner Medal The Wilhelm Exner Medal has been awarded by the Austrian Industry Association, (ÖGV), for excellence in research and science since 1921. The medal is dedicated to Wilhelm Exner (1840–1931), former president of the Association, who initialize ...

*2021: German Future Prize *2021: Asteroid 166028 Karikókatalin, discovered by Hungarian astronomers Krisztián Sárneczky and Zsuzsanna Heiner at the

Piszkéstető Station The Piszkéstető Station or Piszkéstető Mountain Station is an astronomical observatory in Mátraszentimre in Mátra Mountains, about northeast of Hungary's capital Budapest. It is a station of Konkoly Observatory, first built in 1958. It ...

in 2002, was named in her honor. *2021: Debrecen Award for Molecular Medicine *2021:

BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards () are an international award programme recognizing significant contributions in the areas of scientific research and cultural creation. The categories that make up the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards ...

2022

*2022:

Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences is a scientific award, funded by internet entrepreneurs Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan of Facebook; Sergey Brin of Google; entrepreneur and venture capitalist Yuri Milner; and Anne Wojcicki, one of the ...

*2022: Deutscher Immunologie-Preis * 2022: L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award *2022: Paul Ehrlich- and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize *2022: Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Biotechnology *2022: VinFuture Grand Prize *2022: Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Medal of the NAS jointly with Drew Weissman. *2022: Japan Prize jointly with Drew Weissman. *2022:

Pearl Meister Greengard Prize The Pearl Meister Greengard Prize is an award for women scientists in biology given annually by the Rockefeller University. The Prize was founded by Nobel laureate Paul Greengard and his wife Ursula von Rydingsvard in honor of Greengard's moth ...

*2022:

Canada Gairdner International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a p ...

*2022:

in Biopharmaceutical Science. *2022: Honorary Degree: Doctor of Science, Yale University, May 22, 2002 *2022: Honorary Doctor of ELTE Eötvös University, Hungary

Selected publications

* * * * *

Personal life

Karikó is married to Béla Francia. They are the parents of two-time Olympic gold medalist Susan Francia. Their grandson, Alexander Bear Amos, was born in the U.S. in February 2021 to their daughter and son-in-law, architect Ryan Amos. Karikó was able to be present for her grandson's birth.

Media

In April 2021, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' featured her career that laid the groundwork for

mRNA vaccines An mRNA vaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine delivers molecules of antigen-encoding mRNA into immune cells, which use the designed mRNA as a blueprin ...

to fight the

pandemic. On June 10, 2021, '' The Daily'' podcast from ''The New York Times'' highlighted Karikó's career, emphasizing the many challenges she had to overcome before her work was recognized.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kariko, Katalin Living people 1955 births Hungarian biochemists Hungarian emigrants to the United States People from Kisújszállás Women biochemists University of Szeged alumni Temple University faculty University of Pennsylvania faculty BioNTech Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award

Early life and education

Career

Scientific contributions

Patents

Awards and honors

1975 – 2009

2020

2021

2022

Selected publications

Personal life

Media

See also

References

External links