Each year, The Wistar Institute recognizes women in science as a tribute to geneticist Dr. Helen Dean King, the first woman hired as a Wistar scientist. She worked at the Institute from 1909 to 1950. The Wistar Institute is excited to honor 2023 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Katalin Karikó, Ph.D. as the 2024 Helen Dean King Award recipient. Dr. Karikó’s lecture is entitled, “My journey to develop mRNA for therapy”.

Dr. Karikó is a professor at the University of Szeged in Hungary, and adjunct professor of Neurosurgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Karikó received last year’s Nobel Prize alongside her longtime colleague, Dr. Drew Weissman, for their discoveries that enabled the modification of mRNA in such a way that it could be packaged and delivered to cells and trigger the appropriate immune response to fight disease. A testament to the fortitude, wisdom and vision of Dr. King and early women scientists, Dr. Karikó has spent her career working in the field of mRNA vaccine technology, an area of research that was once misunderstood and underfunded. Dr. Karikó pushed past the barriers to follow science and commit to the work she loves.

Read Wistar’s press release for more information.