Trailblazing Nobel Laureate Dr. Katalin Karikó Meets with Wistar Trainees
Dr. Katalin Karikó, 2023 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, received The Wistar Institute’s 2024 Helen Dean King Award and as a part of the day-long activities, Dr. Karikó spent time with Wistar trainees listening, answering their questions and offering advice about the challenges all scientists face in research.
Dr. Karikó’s core advice to the trainees was to not take themselves too seriously and find joy in what they do.
The trainees were captivated by Karikó’s candor and wisdom. She didn’t care about not receiving awards but stayed driven in her mission to improve mRNA — a drive that allowed Karikó to pave the way for the mRNA vaccines that would go on to save countless lives.
On struggles she endured due to a faculty demotion, she said, “I thought, ‘Where else if not here in America can I achieve my goals?’ I told myself, ‘Figure out the best experiments and do not waste time with feeling sorry for yourself.’”
She has a simple motto: life is not easy, so enjoy your work, and stay mentally & physically fit.
Everyone at the lunch table agreed resilience is necessary to work in a lab when experiments fail more often than they succeed. But Dr. Karikó reminded the group how fun and special it is to be a scientist and ask the tough scientific questions that may lead to something new & wonderfully unexpected.
Her reason for persisting in her research even when not taken seriously was her belief that, when you do right thing, you can do anything for however long, because you are happy in the belief you are doing the right thing. Resilience made her stronger and she was fine being an underdog.
Dr. Karikó told the trainees to remain in contact with fellow colleagues. It’s okay to work on a topic on the “periphery,” she said, as long you have a connection to someone who is “inside” with power and resources. On the outside, there was little money or prestige, but there was freedom to work on less funded projects. When she had no funding, she always had a colleague on the inside to support her and perform experiments. As she told her audience: the periphery is fine, as long as you do not crave titles and recognition.
These Wistar trainees are the next generation working in science and closing the inequity gaps that female scientists like Dr. Karikó experienced. They know how to put in the time, fight for their science and opportunities happen because of brilliant science they bring to the table. They appreciate and respect the huge impact Dr. Karikó made across the world, but also for her sage advice to believe the research is a success and that feeling of accomplishment carries on as happiness throughout life.