The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet released today the names of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The assembly awarded the prize jointly to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
Why were they awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize?
The discoveries by the two Nobel Laureates were critical for developing effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 during the pandemic that began in early 2020. 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 approval of two effective and safe COVID-19 mRNA-vaccines in late 2020 propelled the mRNA vaccine field into a new era. The discovery that the use of modified bases in in vitro-transcribed mRNA circumvents undesired inflammatory responses and increases protein production following in vivo delivery demonstrates the value of basic research. The results published by Karikó and Weissman in their seminal 2005 paper received little attention at the time but laid the foundation for critically important developments that have served humanity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Karikó and Weissman’s research laid the foundation for the development of mRNA vaccines, which have been used to protect billions of people from COVID-19. mRNA vaccines work by delivering instructions to cells on how to make a protein from a specific virus. This protein triggers the body’s immune system to produce antibodies, which can protect the body from future infection.
Karikó and Weissman’s work on mRNA vaccines has had a profound impact on the world. Their discoveries have helped to save countless lives and end the COVID-19 pandemic. They are truly deserving of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Sources:
Press release: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023
See also:
Nobel Prize for Old DNA Sequencing
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