**Dr. Katalin Karikó: The Revolutionary Scientist Behind mRNA Technology and Nobel Laureate**.
Dr. Katalin Karikó, a Hungarian biochemist, has been awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alongside Dr. Drew Weissman for their groundbreaking work on mRNA technology, which has revolutionized the field of medicine..
**Early Life and Education:**.
Karikó’s journey began in 1955 in Szolnok, Hungary. Her passion for science emerged early on, and she went on to study biology and chemistry at the University of Szeged. After graduating in 1978, she moved to the United States to pursue her postdoctoral studies at Temple University in Philadelphia..
**Pioneering Research on mRNA:**.
Karikó’s research has focused on messenger RNA (mRNA), a molecule that carries genetic information from DNA to the ribosomes, where proteins are synthesized. Traditional methods of delivering mRNA into cells were often inefficient and toxic, but Karikó made a critical breakthrough in the late 1990s..
She discovered that chemically modifying mRNA could dramatically increase its stability and reduce its immune-stimulatory effects. This breakthrough paved the way for the development of mRNA-based therapies, which have the potential to treat a wide range of diseases..
**Overcoming Challenges and Recognition:**.
Despite the significance of her discovery, Karikó’s work faced skepticism and rejection for many years. She struggled to secure funding for her research and was often dismissed as a .
