If you\u2019ve been watching the news recently, you may have heard that two trailblazing researchers who laid the groundwork for the mRNA vaccines\u2014the breakthrough technology that helped reverse the course of the pandemic\u2014have been jointly awarded this year\u2019s Nobel Prize in Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times,\u201d the Nobel Committee said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of those pioneers has roots at Temple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Katalin Karik\u00f3 grew up in a small Hungarian town, where her father worked as a butcher and her mother as a bookkeeper. She earned an undergraduate degree in biology and a PhD in biochemistry at Hungary\u2019s University of Szeged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1985, Karik\u00f3 left Hungary with her husband and 2-year-old daughter after accepting an invitation to work with Professor Robert Suhadolnik in the biochemistry department at Temple University School of Medicine, now the Lewis Katz School of Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For three years, Karik\u00f3 served as a postdoctoral fellow in Suhadolnik\u2019s lab, where she participated in a clinical trial in which patients with HIV, hematologic diseases and chronic fatigue syndrome were treated with double-stranded RNA. It was considered groundbreaking work at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am thankful for the opportunity Temple provided me,\u201d said Karik\u00f3. \u201cI learned a lot during my time there, and I made a lot of friends. Even today I am still in contact with many of the researchers and scientists I collaborated with in Temple\u2019s lab.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the course of her career, she faced hurdles and naysayers. As just the 13th female scientist to win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Karik\u00f3 hopes she can serve as an inspiration to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy hope is that my story will motivate and encourage women and immigrants and school children everywhere to persevere and be resilient,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked how it feels to be a Nobel Prize winner, Karik\u00f3 stresses that it is an incredible honor, then jokes, \u201cI still do the laundry. I still go grocery shopping and my husband and I still eat what I cook. He keeps reminding me \u2026 \u2018you know you won a Nobel Prize, right?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This article originally appeared on Temple Now<\/a> Medical pioneer Katalin Karik\u00f3 spent three years as a researcher in Temple\u2019s Department of Biochemistry.<\/p>\n 2 MIN READ<\/p>\n
Written by Kim Fischer
Photo courtesy of Katalin Karik\u00f3<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"