mRNA Vaccine Work by Abington’s Dr. Katalin Karikó Brought to Forefront by Pandemic

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Dr. Katalin Karikó, an Abington resident and senior vice president of BioNTech, has been researching the mRNA vaccine for decades, but it was only after the outbreak of the coronavirus that the public took notice, write Emma Court and Nic Querolo for Bloomberg.

Her current company has teamed up with Pfizer to create the first COVID-19 vaccine commercially available in the United States. The 66-year-old Kariko was able to receive the vaccine she was instrumental in creating in December.

Abington scientist Dr. Katalin Karikó has continued work on her mRNA research that proved crucial in creating COVID-19 vaccines.

But before the pandemic, things were not as good for the scientist.

“I could not get grants up until 2006,” she said. “I knew that it could be used for everything. It was kind of a Cassandra feeling, that I can see the future and nobody believes me.”

Still, despite long hours and poor pay, she persevered. And now that her work is known to the world, she is looking forward to seeing how many different diseases can be treated using her research.

“We can target the mRNA to certain organs, certain cell types, bone marrow, and can perform different kinds of treatment,” she said.

Read more about Dr. Katalin Karikó’s mRNA vaccine research at Bloomberg by clicking here.

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