mRNA Vaccine Pioneers Kariko and Weissman Win Nobel Prize 2023 in Medicine
Hungarian-born According to the awarding organization, Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman of the United States have won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research that led directly to the first mRNA vaccines to fight COVID-19, developed by Pfizer and Moderna.
“The laureates contributed to an unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times,” the jury stated on Monday in Stockholm, Sweden’s capital.
Katalin Kariko is an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a professor at Sagan’s University in Hungary. Drew Weissman collaborated with Kariko on his prize-winning study at the University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, you can also read about- A Guide to the World’s Most Prestigious Nobel Prize Awards
The pair will collect their award, which includes a diploma, a gold medal, and a $1 million check, from King Carl XVI Gustaf during a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the death of physicist Alfred Nobel, who established the awards in his will and testament in 1896.
Kevan Shokat, an American biologist who discovered how to suppress the KRAS cancer gene, which is responsible for one-third of all malignancies, including difficult-to-treat lung, colon, and pancreatic tumors, was among the frontrunners for this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Stanislas Leibler and Michael Elowitz, two American scientists, were also nominated for their work on synthetic gene circuits, which helped to develop the science of synthetic biology.
It enables scientists to rebuild creatures by building new capacities into them.
Svante Paabo, a Swedish scientist, got the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine last year for discoveries in human evolution that unlocked secrets of Neanderthal DNA, providing crucial insights into our immune system, especially our vulnerability to severe COVID-19.
The physics prize will be awarded on Tuesday, the chemistry prize on Wednesday, and the literature prize on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded on Friday, while the Nobel Prize in Economics will be awarded on October 9.
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