Life Lessons From Katalin Karikó
Issues in Science and Technology
An award-winning journal devoted to the best ideas and writing on policy related to science, technology, and society.
“You have to believe in yourself—that with hard work you can achieve your goals. It is not easy, nothing is easy. But if you are working in a laboratory, you are already in a great place to have a wonderful and fulfilling life.” These are the words of a person who clearly loves being a scientist—even if it hasn’t been the easiest career.
Katalin Karikó has always been curious and tenacious, from her hardscrabble early life in Hungary to becoming a researcher in the unpromising field of messenger RNA. When she began studying mRNA at the University of Pennsylvania, her colleagues were dismayed at her research area: “They felt sorry for me when I said that I’m working with mRNA: ‘Oh my God, poor Kati.’”
But her persistence paid off. With her colleague Drew Weissman, Karikó developed the type of mRNA that eventually made possible COVID-19 vaccines, which have saved millions of lives worldwide. In an interview with Sara Frueh for our Fall 2024 issue, Karikó talks about the joys and challenges of a life in science, her struggle to find support for her research, and the disorientation of finding herself suddenly in the spotlight.