Katalin Kariko, Drew Weissman awarded 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for mRNA COVID vaccines

The Nobel Prize in Medicine for 2023 has been awarded to Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman for their pioneering work on mRNA vaccines.

Kariko and Weissman are credited with developing the key technology that was used to create the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Their work has helped to save millions of lives and has revolutionized the field of vaccine development.

"Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times," the Nobel Assembly said in its announcement.

The Nobel Assembly, made up of 50 professors from Karolinska Institutet, bestows the renowned honour on scientists who have made major discoveries to the field of medicine for the benefit of humanity.

Katalin Karikó, born in 1955 in Szolnok, has made significant contributions to the world of RNA technology and vaccine development, as a professor at Szeged University and an Adjunct Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Parallelly, Drew Weissman, a Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research, is marking his presence by steering the Penn Institute for RNA Innovations.

Since 1901, 113 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded, with 12 of them going to women. Frederick G. Banting was the youngest medicine laureate ever, receiving the 1923 Medicine Prize for the discovery of insulin at the age of 32.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was bestowed upon renowned Swedish geneticist Svante Paabo. Leading the charge at Germany's prestigious Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Paabo's pioneering efforts in unearthing and examining DNA within ancient bones secured him this esteemed accolade. Unquestionably, his work has catapulted our understanding of Neanderthals into unprecedented territories.

His research has increased our understanding of extinct hominins and human evolution tremendously.

Every October, the Nobel Prize announcements are a widely anticipated occasion, with committees meeting in Stockholm and Oslo to disclose the laureates.

The Nobel Prize has been granted to scientists who have produced the most significant discoveries for the benefit of humanity since its beginning in 1901.

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