Massachusetts native Dr. Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó have received the Nobel Prize in medicine for their key contributions to the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 according to CBS News Boston. This esteemed recognition honors their work shifting the manner in which mRNA interacts with our immune system, and the initiation of the quick creation of potent vaccines against the virus.
Born in Lexington, Weissman holds degrees from Brandeis University and Boston University. He collaborated with Karikó at the University of Pennsylvania, where she serves as adjunct professor, efforts that resulted in the swift development of vaccines to rapidly combat COVID-19.
The pair's work proved instrumental in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, saving countless lives, according to Dr. Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. He lauded mRNA vaccines as significant advances over traditional vaccines in terms of their effectiveness according to Boston 25 News.
Contrasted with traditional vaccines, to produce mRNA vaccines involves creating a version of the genetic code with instructions to create proteins; this enables the human body to generate vaccines internally.
