February 12, 2024 / 07:30 PM
Katalin Karikó, a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and researcher who helped develop the mRNA technology used to create the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, is one of the newest members of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life.
Pope Francis announced the appointment of Karikó, who teaches at the University of Szeged in Hungary, in a press release on February 10. The pontifical academy, created by Saint John Paul II in 1994, studies and provides information on the use of biomedicine in the protection of life.
Born in Szolnok, Hungary, Karikó received the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her work in developing mRNA technology. The Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute issued a press release saying that she and co-investigator Drew Weissman received the award “for their discoveries on nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.”